Real People/Real Stories – A Nonfiction Book Group: “The Unvanquished: The Untold Story of Lincoln’s Special Forces” by Patrick K. O’Donnell (WL)

Real People/Real Stories meets the third Thursday of each month to explore the best in nonfiction history, biography, science, nature, and the arts. This month’s title is 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 by Patrick K. O’Donnell.

During the American Civil War, in addition to the main battlefront, there was a little-known covert war being carried on by special forces units. President Lincoln’s Jessie Scouts and John Singleton Mosby’s Confederate Rangers engaged in violent commando raids, espionage, and undercover attacks of remarkable creativity and danger. Military historian Patrick O’Donnell masterfully relates this exciting, little-known tale of irregular guerrilla warfare.

“The Unvanquished is a spectacular book from one of America’s finest historians. After years of deep research, Patrick K. O’Donnell has unearthed a magnificent Civil War epic. Beautifully written, every page shimmers. Thrusting the reader into violent clashes on horseback, commandos operating in their enemy’s uniform behind the lines, or the intrigue and interference in the election of 1864, O’Donnell resurrects an unknown shadow war. Mesmerizing, action-packed, and original, this triumphant narrative is destined for the screen. Impossible to put down.”—James L. Swanson, Edgar Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer

“In Patrick K. O’Donnell’s newest book, The Unvanquished, the practice of special operations by both the North and the South in the American Civil War is revealed in a way that only a talented historian could manage. The author has established himself as a master at the art of

unearthing truly untold stories, conducting exhaustive archival research, and drawing on his skills as a gifted writer to produce a genuinely captivating story. Beautifully written, The Unvanquished is a terrifically absorbing account of a little-known aspect of the Civil War with much to draw and hold the reader. It is a must-read for anyone wishing to expand their knowledge of American special operations history.”—Will Irwin, retired Green Beret, former professor at Joint Special Operations University, and author of The Jedburghs and Abundance of Valor

“Once or twice a generation, an extraordinary historian will rediscover a long-buried aspect of our past and restore its significance in the public eye through masterful research and storytelling. Patrick K. O’Donnell has done exactly that with his brilliant new book, The Unvanquished. From the first days of the Jessie Scouts and Mosby’s guerrilla operations in Virginia, to Sheridan’s legendary operatives whose final battle in Mexico remains an enduring mystery, O’Donnell brings to life not just an unheralded aspect of Civil War history, but shows how their legacy served as a blueprint in the early days of the OSS as our dark world agents and officers struggled build an organization that could defeat Nazi Germany. Patrick O’Donnell connects the long-forgotten dots between the Civil War special operations pioneers whose exploits largely went unheralded and the rebirth of modern special forces in the fires of World War II. The Unvanquished extends and enriches the legacy and heritage of our clandestine warriors and breathes life into some of the most fascinating, forgotten aspects of Civil War history. This book is not to be missed.”—John R. Bruning, author of Indestructible, Race of Aces, and Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island