John R. Mosby, aka Jack Mosby, was a member of the
Industrial Workers of the World who served as head of the Second Division of the
Liberal Army during the
Magonista rebellion of 1911 in
Baja California.
Biography
John R. Mosby was born in
Kentucky, United States, during the late 1870s. His father was N. T. Mosby, an entertainment entrepreneur, and his uncle
John S. Mosby was a Colonel in the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
during the
United States Civil War. In his twenties, he became engaged in
arms smuggling during the
Spanish–American War, acted as a
foreign volunteer during the
Second Boer War and participated in the rebellion for the
separation of Panama from Colombia.
On January 29, 1911,
José María Leyva and
Simón Berthold took over the border town of
Mexicali with a group of approximately 30 rebels. A significant number of new recruits came from American to fight as guerillas in the
Liberal Army, many IWW members such as John R. Mosby enlisted, convinced by the
revolutionary ideas
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
they shared with the
Mexican Liberal Party.
After the deaths of the initial leaders of the campaign, Mosby was elected commander by the so-called "Foreign Legion" or "American Legion". Mosby remained in command until the defeat and surrender of the rebellion in
Tijuana on June 22, 1911. He returned to the United States where he was imprisoned on
McNeil Island along with other members of the PLM. He was offered his freedom in exchange for testifying against
Ricardo Flores Magón, which he refused.
References
Bibliography
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South African Republic military personnel of the Second Boer War
People of the Mexican Revolution
Industrial Workers of the World members
People from Kentucky