The Unvanquished Quotes

“Grant’s offensives were not intended to occupy large swaths of Southern territory but instead aimed to destroy the South’s armies, the Confederacy’s infrastructure, and its ability to wage war.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“A genius in war, Grant consistently won battles and campaigns that had been rare in the Union Army during the early years of the conflict.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Grant laid out a crushing plan of constant attack and pressure, “to employ all the force of all the armies continually and concurrently, so that there should be no recuperation on the part of the Rebel, no rest from attack, no opportunity to reinforce first one and then another point with the same troops, at different seasons; no possibility of profiting by the advantages of interior lines; no chance to furlough troops, to reorganize armies, or recreate supplies; no respite of any sort, anywhere, until absolute submission ended the War.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“As one officer described, “Such flirtations and conversations, flew like musket balls. The sweet strains of music ever rising and falling in rhythmic waves … we lived in ecstasy.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Being a Scout required “the coolest courage, and the clearest head and quickest wit. He passes the enemy’s lines, sits at his campfire, penetrates even the presences of the commanding General,”8 recalled one contemporary historian. Each operation honed the Scouts’ experience and tactics as the unit continued to evolve.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Being a Scout required “the coolest courage, and the clearest head and quickest wit.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“The precious tactical intelligence furnished by the Scouts became the lifeblood on which crucial decisions flowed.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“One Ranger summed it up as “the boldest front oftenest wins the fight.”9”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Everything depended on “getting the bulge on them,” what Rangers referred to as seizing the initiative by gaining an advantage with a violent and powerful attack that often stunned their opponents.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“I would furnish captured horses in consideration of their going with me on a few raids,”48 wrote Mosby. The Rangers procured most of their mounts and equipment from the Union raids they conducted.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“The military value of a partisan’s work is not measured by the amount of property destroyed, or the number of men killed or captured, but by the number [of the enemy] he keeps watching [him]. Every soldier withdrawn from the front to guard the rear of an army is so much taken from its fighting strength.”33”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Mosby warned against revisionist history: “Now while I think as badly of slavery as Horace Greeley did, I am not ashamed that my family were slaveowners. It was our inheritance—Neither am I that my ancestors were pirates or cattle thieves. People must be judged by the standard of their age.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“what was the business of the scout; and the best answer I ever gave was, that it is his business to find out other men’s business.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“A scout is a man who finds out how far the enemy’s pickets extend, the position and strength of the enemy, and also ascertains such general facts as may be useful in the conduct of war. There are no rules for the operations of scouts: they are generally independent and have little if any organization; they are in fact, spies. You cannot call ‘us fellows’ anything less than spies, but scout is a more respectable name. Scouts are armed, and either fight or surrender, according to the chances.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Many OSS veterans mentioned the OSS connection to the Civil War.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Rangers, and Confederate Secret Service during the Civil War.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“The flat and nimble organization was an idea factory that teemed with extraordinary Americans”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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

“Donovan despised red tape and bureaucracy, and his door was open to members of any rank or station for innovative suggestions.”
― Patrick K. O'Donnell, 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