CEASELESS VIOLENCE AND BRUTALITY: 7/8: The Unvanquished: The Untold Story of Lincoln’s Special Forces, the Manhunt for Mosby’s Rangers, and theShadow War That Forged America’s Special Operations Hardcover – by Patrick K. O'Donnell (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 30 December 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, theunconventional 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.
1863 10TH MASS.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is CBSI on the world. I'm John Batchew with Patrick K. O'Donnell, the bestselling author of The Unvanquished. This is a |
| 0:13.5 | civil war story in the saddle. These are the irregular forces of the Union and the Confederacy. |
| 0:21.3 | The untold story of Lincoln Special Forces. |
| 0:24.3 | It is now early 1865, and a man named Young comes forward. |
| 0:30.9 | Blazers captured. |
| 0:32.4 | He's going to have a rough time in prison, but Harry Harrison Young, a man who blossoms in warfare. How so, Patrick, |
| 0:41.0 | what did Young think about warfare? Young was absolutely fearless in battle and in reckless, daring. |
| 0:50.6 | What Sheridan had done is after Blazersor Scouts kind of, there's some elements that remain, but the Jesse Scouts are still there. |
| 1:03.1 | He needed a commander for the Scouts, and the perfect match happens to be Young, who takes command of the group and the elements of Blazers |
| 1:13.4 | scouts. Some of them actually filter into the Jesse Scouts. They are then used as a strategic |
| 1:21.6 | asset for Philip Sheridan to lead his armies primarily. These are men that are in Confederate uniform that are sent out in front of the army |
| 1:32.1 | to find weak points to provide tactical and strategic intelligence, but also deliver |
| 1:38.4 | messages between the armies and to manhunt for partisans as well. |
| 1:44.7 | And Young takes command. |
| 1:46.4 | He's only 5-5, but absolutely fearless in battle. |
| 1:49.9 | And one of his first training missions is he takes the Jesse Scouts and assembles them for a battle. |
| 2:00.6 | They ambush an entire southern regiment. |
| 2:05.2 | Only 50 men are so strong. |
| 2:08.6 | And it's sort of a suicide mission, |
| 2:10.7 | but he wants to demonstrate just sort of their metal and how tough they are. |
| 2:15.5 | And they attack it, and it's a hit and run operation. And |
| 2:19.4 | nearly every somebody survives. But it's an operation to sort of test what he has. But Young is |
... |
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.