The single season 1957 TV series where the Confederates were the *good* guys!

[astro]

I never even knew this show existed!

The Grey Ghost

Gray Ghost is based on the true story of Major (later Colonel) John Singleton Mosby, a young lawyer who joined the Forty-Third Battalion of the First Virginia Cavalry and became the leader of a Confederate guerilla unit.

Mosby was known for his cunning and stealth, which earned him the name “Gray Ghost.” The show remained remarkably true to historical fact. Virgil Carrington Jones, a noted authority on Mosby, was a consultant for a few of the episodes.

Sadly, political correctness is not just a modern concept. Portraying the Confederates favorably made sponsors and the network nervous so they cancelled the show after only one season.

But it didn’t die. Gray Ghost remained popular in syndication for over a decade

John Singleton Mosby bio

[Skywatcher]

Moseby’s unit also inspired a boardgame.

[Sunrazor]

I read the linked biography – doesn’t seem like there would be much more than a couple of seasons’ worth of material, especially if the series remained faithful to history.

I wonder if the series would have fared better if, in a second season, it had portrayed Mosby after the war as an unrepentant Confederate but peaceable lawyer(which it appears he was) who fought for the underdog – sort of a lover of lost causes.

[Walloon]

It shold be pointed out that while the show was originally inteded for network showing, it was instead syndicated by CBS to local stations.

P.S. The title was The Gray Ghost with an “a”.

[RealityChuck]

So?

The Americans showed the Civil War from both sides and portrayed the southern side with some sympathy.

The Rebel was about a Confederate veteran.

Going way back, the movie The General portrays a confederate hero and Hands Up! had a Confederate spy as hero. There’s also Shirley Temple’s The Littlest Rebel.

I also doubt the subject matter was a problem back in 1957. I’m sure the racial aspect was ignored.