I'm John Batchel with Patrick Hay O'Donnell, the best-selling Patrick Hay O'Donnell, my friend.

The unvankished, the untold story of Lingens Special Forces, the manhunt for Mosby's Rangers,

the Shadow War that forged America's special operations, and details we've never had before. Lee must make a

decision. He's surrounded by counselors, including the governor of Virginia and his generals. And there is

the choice. The choice is become irregular forces, become guerrillas, go to the mountains, or surrender. Patrick, how does Lee decide this?

This is one of the great decisions in American history. Lee puts America first instead of the

Confederacy first. He puts the fact that he wants, you know, Southern women and the children of the South and those that are that are in the next generation first, he directly disobeys Jefferson Davis's order to conduct guerrilla warfare.

And from a military sense, it made a lot of, it made sense to connect guerrilla warfare.

And if Lee had been determined to do so,

they would have been almost impossible to defeat if they fled to the mountains and they had scattered the various commands. Because remember, the South had not been occupied. And the southern

population, while war-weary still had lost so many men, they were still behind the war itself.

And as we know, in insurgencies to this day, when a population has a large support of that population has supports the insurgency, they're almost impossible to defeat.

But Lee puts America first instead of the South and decides to disobey a direct

order.

And to grants, you know, General Grant is wise and provides respect to his opponent.

Rather than round everybody up as a P.O.W.

And disrespect them, he offers very, very favorable term.

This is statesmanship.

I think it's also the beginning of America where it comes together again,

and reconciliation and forgiveness.

These are very, very important points that, you know, apply to today.

Statesmanship, putting country first, and these men did exactly that, which creates the modern

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