4/8: The Unvanquished: The Untold Story of Lincoln’s Special Forces, the Manhunt for Mosby’s Rangers, and the Shadow War That Forged America’s Special Operations Hardcover – by Patrick K. O'Donnell (Author) @combathistorian
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 24 May 2024
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
https://www.amazon.com/Unvanquished-Lincolns-Special-Americas-Operations/dp/080216286X
At the heart of this groundbreaking narrative is the epic story of Lincoln’s special forces, the Jessie Scouts, told in its entirety for the first time. In a contest fought between irregular units, the Scouts hunted John Singleton Mosby’s Confederate Rangers from the middle of 1863 up to war’s end at Appomattox. With both sides employing pioneering tradecraft, they engaged in dozens of raids and spy missions, often perilously wearing the other’s uniform, risking penalty of death if captured. Clashing violently on horseback, the unconventional units attacked critical supply lines, often capturing or killing high-value targets. North and South deployed special operations that could have changed the war’s direction in 1864, and crucially during the Appomattox Campaign, Jessie Scouts led the Union Army to a final victory. They later engaged in a history-altering proxy war against France in Mexico, earning seven Medals of Honor; many Scouts mysteriously disappeared during that conflict, taking their stories to their graves
1865 Richmond breed
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm John Bachelor with my friend Patrick O'Donnell. His new book is The Unvanquist. |
| 0:09.0 | The Untold Story of Lincoln Special Forces and the man hung for Mosby's Rangers. |
| 0:14.4 | Jeb Stewart is wounded, and he is very good and very easy to work with for John |
| 0:20.8 | Sykelton Mosby. There is another man we need to introduce who is not easy to work with |
| 0:26.0 | because he's cantankerous and likes to keep his own counsel. |
| 0:31.0 | His name is Early, Jubil Early, and he's got a cavalry force that is very |
| 0:38.4 | likely to have won the war but for the accidents of warfare. |
| 0:44.0 | Patrick, what is important to know about Jubal Early and John Mosby? |
| 0:48.0 | Chubel Early is considered General Lee's mean old dog, he's |
| 0:53.1 | can tankers, it's not friendly. |
| 0:55.8 | And in terms of the relationship between Mosby |
| 1:00.2 | and Jubilee, they don't like each other, |
| 1:02.1 | they can't stand each other. |
| 1:03.6 | And this is an unfortunate thing for the Confederacy, |
| 1:07.1 | because had the two work together in more coordination, |
| 1:10.4 | the capital may have fallen. |
| 1:12.4 | And what happens is during the Battle of Lynchburg, which is in the summer of 1864, |
| 1:19.0 | Lee rushes reinforcement to the city and they repel a even larger force under General |
| 1:26.6 | Hunter the Union commander who instead of retreating towards Washington to protect it he |
| 1:31.9 | retreats back into West Virginia and it's a death |
| 1:35.0 | march you know the scouts are there it's a really you know there's it's hot many |
| 1:41.3 | men just die of dehydration but the way to to to the way to Washington DC is open and they |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.