5/8: 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
🗓️ 25 May 2024
⏱️ 14 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
2865 March 4 DC
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is CBS I on the world with John Bachelor. |
| 0:10.0 | Here's John Bachelor. |
| 0:12.0 | Continuing with Patrick K O'Donnell, the book The Unvanquish, |
| 0:16.9 | the untold story of Lincoln's Special Forces, |
| 0:19.8 | the Manhunt for Mosby's Rangers, |
| 0:22.0 | and the Shadow War that forged America's special operations. |
| 0:26.3 | It is August, 1864. |
| 0:30.1 | Sheridan, Phil Sheridan, the cavalry genius is in command in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. |
| 0:37.0 | Ulysses Grant is in command of all the forces of the Union. |
| 0:43.1 | Grant's distinction here is that he is going to attack and attack and attack. |
| 0:49.6 | However, he's aware that the regular forces, the partisans of the valley are very much undermining |
| 0:58.3 | the credibility of the Lincoln government, of the North. So he once wants it solved and he writes to Phil Sheridan a man |
| 1:07.3 | whom he will intimately trust the rest of their lives together he writes him and |
| 1:12.2 | says I want you to deal with the men of the valley in this |
| 1:17.7 | fashion where any of a man's where any of most of his men's men caught, I want you to hang them without trial. |
| 1:26.8 | And I want you to destroy any crops, animals, and slave persons without hesitation. And all men under 50 in the valley are to be made prisoners of war. |
| 1:37.0 | Patrick, congratulations again. Grant is enraged and he writes Phil Sheridan what is to be done. This would have been |
| 1:45.5 | total war. This would have been a a burned landscape. It would have resembled things |
| 1:50.6 | that we saw in the 20th century. Does Sheridan follow his orders? |
| 1:54.0 | Thank you. Not entirely. In fact, especially with the prisoners, he does not follow |
| 1:59.0 | the orders entirely. And this is something that Philip Sheridan is known for. He follows some orders, he follows the orders that he wants to follow. |
| 2:07.0 | But this isn't one of them because he recognizes that the death of |
... |
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.