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July 4, 2024 - Bannon's War Room
48:36
Episode 3733: WarRoom Independence Day special
Participants
Main voices
p
patrick k odonnel
14:46
s
steve bannon
18:27
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Speaker Time Text
unidentified
Very well.
Bye.
The Congress will now vote on Virginia's resolution on independence.
Thank you for coming, Caesar.
God bless you, sir.
The secretary will call the roll.
And I'd remind you, gentlemen, that a single nay vote will defeat the motion.
Mr. Thompson?
New Hampshire!
New Hampshire says yea.
New Hampshire says yea.
Massachusetts.
Massachusetts says yay.
Massachusetts says yay.
Rhode Island.
Rhode Island says yay.
Rhode Island says yay.
Connecticut.
Connecticut says yay.
Connecticut says yay.
New York.
The Secretary of New York abstains.
New York abstains.
New Jersey.
New Jersey says yay.
New Jersey says yay.
Pennsylvania.
Mr. Secretary, Pennsylvania is not ready.
Please come back to us later.
Pennsylvania passes.
Delaware!
Delaware, by majority vote, says yay.
Delaware says yay.
Maryland!
Maryland says yay.
Maryland says yay.
Virginia!
Virginia says yay.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
Virginia says yay.
unidentified
North Carolina!
North Carolina yields to South Carolina.
South Carolina?
Well, Mr. Adams?
Well, Mr. Rutledge?
Mr. Adams?
You must believe that I will do what I promised to do.
What is it you want, Rutledge?
Remove the offending passage from your declaration.
If we did that, we would be guilty of what we ourselves are rebelling against.
Nevertheless, remove it, or South Carolina will bury, now and forever, your dream of independence.
Sean, I beg you consider what you're doing.
Mark me, Franklin.
Thank you.
If we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive us.
That's probably true, but we won't hear a thing.
We'll be long gone.
Besides, what will posterity think we were?
Demi-gods?
We're men, no more, no less, trying to get a nation started against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed.
First things first, John.
Independence, America.
If we don't secure that, what difference will the rest make?
Jefferson, say something.
Thanks for watching!
What else is there to do?
Well, man, you're the one that wrote it.
I wrote all of it, Mr. Adams.
There. There it is, Rutland. You have your slavery.
Little good may it do you.
Now go, damn you!
Mr. President, the fair colony of South Carolina says yay.
South Carolina says yay.
North Carolina says yay.
North Carolina says yay.
Georgia.
Georgia says yay.
Georgia says yay.
Pennsylvania, second call.
Mr. President, Pennsylvania regrets all of the inconvenience that such distinguished men as Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson were put to just now.
They might have kept their document intact for all the difference it will make.
Mr. President, Pennsylvania says... Just a moment.
I ask the delegation be polled.
Dr. Franklin, don't be absurd.
A poll, Mr. President.
It's a proper request.
Yes, it is.
For the delegation, Mr. Thompson.
Dr. Benjamin Franklin.
Yeah?
Mr. John Dickinson.
Nay.
Mr. James Wilson.
George Wilson.
There it is, Mr. Wilson.
It's all up to you now.
The whole question of American independence rests squarely on your shoulders.
An entirely new nation, ready to be born or to die at birth, all on your say-so.
Which will it be, Mr. Wilson?
Every map-maker in the world is waiting for your decision.
Come now, James, nothing has changed.
We mustn't let Dr. Franklin create one of his confusions.
The question is clear.
Most questions are clear when someone else has to decide them.
It would be a pity for a man who's handed down hundreds of wise decisions from the bench to be remembered only for the one unwise decision he made in Congress.
James, you're keeping everybody waiting.
The secretary has called for your vote.
Please.
Don't push me, John.
I know what you want me to do.
But Mr. Adams is correct about one thing.
I'm the one who'll be remembered for it.
What do you mean?
I'm different from you, John.
Bye.
I'm different from most of the men here.
I don't want to be remembered.
I just don't want the responsibility Yes, well, whether you want it or not, James, there's no way of avoiding it.
Not necessarily, John.
If I go with them, I'll just be one among dozens.
No one will ever remember the name of James Wilson.
But if I vote with you, I'll be the man who prevented American independence.
I'm sorry, John.
I just didn't bargain for that.
And is that how new nations are formed?
By a non-entity trying to preserve the anonymity he so richly deserves.
Revolutions come into this world like bastard children, Mr. Dickinson.
Half improvised and half compromised.
Our side has provided the compromise.
Now Judge Wilson is supplying the rest.
James, I'm sorry, John.
and I'll see you next time.
My vote... ...is yay.
Mr. Secretary, Pennsylvania says yay.
The count... ...being 12 to none... ...with one abstention... ...the resolution on independence... ...is adopted.
It's done.
It's done.
Mr. Thompson, is the declaration ready to be signed?
It is.
Then I suggest we do so.
And the Chair further proposes for our mutual security and protection that no man be allowed to sit in this Congress without attaching his name to it.
I'm sorry, Mr. President.
I cannot, in good conscience, sign such a document.
I will never stop hoping for our eventual reconciliation with England.
But because, in my own way, I regard America no less than does Mr. Adams, I will join the army and fight in her defense,
even though I believe that fight to be hopeless.
Goodbye, gentlemen.
Thank you.
Gentlemen of the Congress, I say ye John Dickinson.
A republic if you can keep it.
A republic if you can keep it.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
it.
That was the vote was about and those individuals were incredibly brave too.
Don't get me wrong.
They all knew that they were going to hang from the gallows as soon as the as soon as the British Army and the Royal Navy could get their hands on them.
We left with the American Thermopylae.
Now those heroes are buried in an unmarked grave somewhere under a parking lot or underneath a tavern or something in Brooklyn.
We don't even know where it is, specifically.
There's a little sign there, but it should be so much more, particularly with the 250th coming up.
Patrick K. O'Donnell, but that just led a couple of days later to the American Dunkirk.
The beatdown is not over for the American, the Continental Army.
Walk me through it, sir.
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
What happens next is there's a massive thunderstorm, nor'easter, that comes in and pelts the American entrenchments that are near Brooklyn Heights.
But had the British attacked right after the Marylander's stand, it's possible that the entire war would have been lost there, because they would have been able to overrun The entrenchments.
But the Marylanders bought a lot of time.
They chewed up hours.
And it was late in the afternoon that they have to make a decision.
And they don't want to repeat another bunker hill.
So Howe decides to siege the entrenchments and also bring up the Royal Navy up the East River and surround them.
And it's here that Washington, in these entrenchments, in a house called the Three Chimneys, decides, does he stand and fight, or does he retreat?
And they go back and forth a little bit with his battle captains, but he decides wisely the best thing to do is retreat.
But one of the hardest things to do in all of military history is to retreat under the watch of your enemy.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
and there there's a massive army arrayed in front of you and the royal navy is in the east river and they somehow hang on hang on because hang on this is going to play to the story of trenton People will tell you the hardest thing to do in the military is a retreat across under fire across a river or the force crossing of a river under fire.
Here you've got the East River and you've got under fire you have to get out and you don't have all the vessels you need, correct?
I don't have carrying capacity to get everybody out at once, Philip.
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
No, this is where the American Dunkirk takes place.
John Glover's men assemble all the boats that they possibly can, and it's a variety of small craft.
And they are then tasked with somehow, with only a few hours notice, to retreat over 9,500 men and the wounded and their cannon across the East River.
And that night, It doesn't go well for the Americans at all.
The waves and the tide, everything is not well.
It doesn't work.
They try to cross.
They try to find Washington to call off the entire enterprise, but he can't be found, miraculously.
And they continue to try.
And eventually, it's the seasoned Marylander, the Marbleheaders from Massachusetts, who are the most skilled naval men of the entire colonies, That have, you know, braved the Grand Banks fisheries, which are some of the most treacherous waters in the world at the time, for decades, you know, with even massive losses.
But it's the teamwork of these men, which are then able to do the American miracle, the American Dunkirk.
But it's a race against time, Steve.
And, you know, dawn is coming.
But the providential fog comes up and screens the movement of the Marble Hunters and their
boats and the army is saved.
unidentified
One of the great miracles in American history.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
The Indispensable and Washington's Immortals.
The Revolutionary War.
There's two volumes.
Unbelievable.
You won't put it down.
They read like novels.
Patrick's gonna stick around.
A lot of people forget, in the second Really taking the rebirth of the nation in the Civil War.
July 4th played a big role too.
The Great Battle of Gettysburg ends on the 3rd with Pickett's Charge.
We're going to pivot next to the Civil War, discuss that.
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unidentified
short commercial break.
♪♪ ♪♪
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
That's the African farewell from the magnificent Ken Burns' And if I can make a recommendation, have your family watch John Adams on HBO and Ken Burns'
On, um, I think it's 12 hours nationwide.
Ken Burns, no fan of MAGA, no fan of President Trump, certainly no fan of Stephen K. Bannon, but it's still the best documentary ever made about the Civil War.
Although from a, I think Ken is from New Hampshire, it's from a northern perspective, but pretty damn good.
unidentified
Not too shabby, as they say in the Navy.
On, um, I think it was, I want to say it's July...
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
On June 30th, June 30th of 1863, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the night, at like 3 o'clock in the morning, a messenger, a courier came from Washington to where the Army of Northern Pacific was encamped on the road to Gettysburg, and they came to the tent of the head of that army, it was General Meade, And his adjutant let him in, the courier.
He said he had, when he came in, he had a message from Lincoln.
Meade would write to his wife about a week later, at the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, where he had actually prevailed against the Confederate army of Robert E. Lee.
And he would write his wife and say, when the courier came in with my adjutant, I thought I was under arrest.
I thought I was under arrest.
Why was that?
Because there was so much dissension in the high command of the Washington, D.C.
political apparatus, including President Lincoln and his cabinet, and also The military that they had just, you know, they had just relieved a year before, their pride and joy McClellan, who would eventually run against Lincoln in 1864.
And they'd had a series of fiascos and disasters after, I think, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, one after the other.
And it led Lee to take a, to really go on offense Knowing how much the North hated the war, particularly in New York City.
And he was trying to take a swinging move up the, up really what we call the National Road, that valley that goes down from, really from, I guess, Pennsylvania, New York, all the way down through the South.
And he was going just a little east of it and going to swing around, take the capital of Harrisburg, and then swing around and try to commence military operations against Philadelphia.
Uh, and, uh, they relieved, I think, Hooker.
Patrick Hayward, General, uh, um, joins me.
I think they relieved Hooker because of the disaster at Chancellorsville.
They gave the command to Meade, and, uh, and Meade thought he was under arrest.
Four days later, he's the victor.
Not really the victor, he kind of, he kind of, you know, took as many blows as he could.
We're going to do two Fourth of Julies.
We're going to do the Fourth of July of 1863, and then the next segment, Patrick Caridone is going to tell us an amazing story about 1864.
Folks, this Civil War, and although Gettysburg's one of the dividing lines of it, it was in the balance all the way to, I believe, in the 1864 election, Patrick, when Atlanta fell.
When Atlanta fell, I think September 1st, 2nd, 3rd of 1864, That's when I really think that the war essentially came to an end.
We had another six or eight months worth of fighting, but that was the biggest single thing, the fall of Atlanta.
But it was in the balance in 1863 and 1864, and as war-weary as the South was and as tired as the South was and beat up, The war, I think you can say, particularly from working class people, was generally hated.
Because the generalship was so bad, everything was so bad.
Let's take two things over the 4th of July weekend.
The Pickett's Charge on the 3rd at Gettysburg after three days, and each day bigger than Waterloo.
And of course, the fall of Vicksburg under Grant in the West, which basically gave Grant command of the entire army.
Let's take Gettysburg first.
Your thoughts about the scale and brutality of the Battle of Gettysburg, sir.
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
It's one of the greatest battles in American history.
And, you know, it's the summer of 1863.
And as you mentioned, the Battle of Chancellorsville changes things.
It's a massive defeat for Hooker.
General Lee divides his army, but it opens up an opportunity through the Shenandoah Valley.
And the Shenandoah Valley is the root of invasion.
It was that way in 1862, 63, and it is 1864, as I'll get into it a little bit later.
But the root of invasion has opened up, and it's the root of invasion to the north.
And it's here during the summer that A character in my book, John Singleton Mosby in The Unvanquished, plays a role for what he does and what he doesn't do.
As Lee's army is marching north, they need a screening force to basically block the probing eyes of the Union cavalry.
And that's where Jeb Stewart comes into play.
His cavalry is there to screen Robert E. Lee's movement as they go up through the Shenandoah Valley north.
And it's at the Battle of Upperville that they have an epic clash.
Mosby is a regular force here in Middleburg and Aldi and that area, and he raids a Union headquarters area.
And is able to capture what he's called, what's known as the Open SESME letter.
They understand what the federal allotment of troops are and where they're going, where they're going to be moving towards.
It's a massive intelligence coup that is potentially a huge move for the South.
But what happens next is Mosby's faulty intelligence Actually sends Jeff Stewart's Calvary in a diversionary operation, which will change the course of the battle, because Robert E. Lee will lose his eyes and ears.
What they recommend is that Stewart basically takes his force off and moves up the Carolina Road, which is Route 15 today, towards Pointer Rocks.
But what happens is they run across the Second Corps, And this changes everything.
They raid a bunch of wagons in Haymarket, which delays everything, but they have to make a circuitous route all the way around the Union forces.
And meanwhile, Lee is deprived of his eyes and ears.
There's some cavalry in his army, under McClausen but it's, you know, he misses that reconnaissance
force which is so crucial.
And they clash at Gettysburg and the opening day goes towards the south. In many ways they have
tremendous advantages because the Union Army has not completely consolidated at Gettysburg.
And, you know, as time goes on, the second day there's the epic battle on the flank of the Union
line, which is kind of in this fish hook pattern at little round top.
It's here that, you know, the 5th Corps and the 20th Maine Which has the far, you know, the most extreme portion of that flank, makes an epic bayonet charge, which disrupts the Alabama troops that are trying to seize the hill.
There's also many other heroes of Little Round Top, you know, there that day, but they hold the line and it sets up the attack on the center, which is Pickett's Charge the next day.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
You know, even on day two, there was the Minnesota group held off.
I think it was from Alabama.
They almost got as high as pickets.
There's so many fascinating stories.
I can't recommend to this audience, anywhere you are in the country, take I would take a week.
Go to Gettysburg, and if you do it during the time of the recreation of the battle, it's great.
But if not, for the summer, for the kids, it's like going back in time.
They got the old motels, they got all the little gift shops, and they do the ghost walk at night.
The kids can be entertained there.
Kind of a 1950s type of entertainment.
It's just absolutely fantastic.
The view when you stand at Cemetery Ridge, and I was honored to have President Trump there after we gave that great speech.
He threw down on the corruption speech and we got a few minutes to go over and take him to what they call the angle or the high tide of the Confederacy.
In summer, of course, we were there in late October, early November.
In the summer, when you look back across Patrick K. O'Donnell.
It's one of the most stunning views, I think, in America with that kind of wheat and the grass and everything.
It just looks like a painting that is so, so beautiful.
The battle led to the third day.
Give me a minute on the charging order break and I want to finish with Pickett and Vicksburg, but then we got to talk about Jubal early.
Pickett's Charge.
What, 10,000 men?
What did Longstreet tell Lee?
No 10,000 men on earth could take that embankment next to the copse of trees?
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
Exactly.
I mean, it's open ground.
They're going up against rifled muskets and cannon fire.
You know, they have to traverse hundreds of yards.
And the Confederate candidate Which the hope was that that would sort of neutralize some of the Union positions on top of the ridge.
It was largely ineffective.
So these men are going across open ground and, you know, still, miraculously, they get up towards the top and they nearly overwhelm it.
But it's the bravery of, you know, the Union soldiers that are there that, you know, it's hand to hand combat.
It's an epic struggle that they hold the line.
unidentified
Yeah.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
Hang on for one second, we're taking a short commercial break.
Alfonso Cushing?
One of his brothers was the original Navy Commander, like a Navy SEAL.
unidentified
His other brother, I think, was a Naval Officer, Supply Officer.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
He was an Army Officer, he was a West Point graduate.
His gun's right there at the angle where he put the, uh, basically shot, buckshot, at point-blank range and stopped the charge.
He died in combat.
unidentified
Thank you for watching. Please subscribe.
That is obviously Shenandoah, one of my favorite songs.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
If you haven't heard that sung by a choir, you haven't heard Americana.
unidentified
It's absolutely stunning, stunning, stunning.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
Alonzo Cushman.
was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 by President Barack Obama.
There was a woman that he's from, I think Wisconsin is the family's from.
The mother of the Cushing's, extraordinary woman, essentially by herself raised three sons who were all kind of, two of them were definitely among the more, uh, amazing American heroes ever had.
I think his brother was hooked up in the, in the blowing up of the, the monitor and the mirror.
I mean, this is a Navy SEAL belief.
He went to the Naval Academy.
Uh, his brother that at Gettysburg, um, Went to West Point.
Those guns right there, when Pickett's Charge got up, as Brother Patrick O'Donnell told us, they almost overwhelmed General Armistead, got there and said, turn around the guns.
The one group of cannons, and Cushing's cannons are still there when you go to Gettysburg.
He put a shot in chain that connected it.
He was already shot in the groin.
He was bleeding out profusely.
He had a sergeant who was helping direct the batteries.
They put in the shot and chain for point-blank range and it was going to go off like a shotgun.
Because you had these wild Confederates with the battle flags and the rebel yell, and they made it all the way across that shelling.
And what Patrick said is right.
The Napoleonic strategy was to concentrate your cannon fire, concentrate your artillery, let it decimate the enemy, and then hit.
What happened is that the fuses weren't right, or the great Confederate artillery just shot too long and really overshot in back of the ridge so when they got there almost the entire union army that was still there hey they had officers in the back where the statues are now a lot of the officers are on on horses uh that with pistol drawn not for the confederates but for guys were deciding hey maybe
I ought to rethink this and head back and get a drink of water.
You would be shot if you left that line.
This is how intense this was.
Cushing bleeding out from the groin, dying, and his sergeant, they loaded up, and Cushing gets the orders.
He's holding to the last second, holding to the last second, because they want to decimate Pickett's charge, and Cushing Gets ready to give the order, talks to the sergeant, and shot point-blank range through the mouth.
Dies instantly, and his sergeant lights the fuse, which goes off, and it explodes into the Confederate front line.
The folks that lived later said it was like a shotgun at point-blank range.
And Armistead still got over?
Remember, Armistead's the one that had his hat on top of his sword, so the gunfire, the gun smoke was so heavy, as you actually see it, they did turn a couple of the guns around.
But then the high water mark is a couple of feet later.
Vicksburg had been under siege.
Patrick K. O'Donnell for a while.
This was Grant.
Grant tried every way to come.
Came by land, came by sea.
Vicksburg, the Gibraltar of the Mississippi, the Gibraltar of the South, they had to take Vicksburg.
The siege of Vicksburg was pretty nasty, was it not, Brother Patrick K. O'Donnell?
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
It indeed was.
And it was, you know, innovations from Grant, persistence, that he eventually surrounds it and, you know, starves them out, effectively.
And, you know, there's a siege going on.
And it's here that, you know, 29,000 Confederates surrender.
And the Confederacy is cleaved in half because the Union now controls Yeah, they've cut off Texas, which is not a good thing.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
The bitterness about Vicksburg, and you're right, they're starving to death, and there's all types of rumors and myths and hearsay about, obviously they were eating rats, but there were even things of cannibalism, it was so horrible, the Confederates held out to the bitter end.
It was so bitter.
In Vicksburg, Mississippi, and folks understand Mississippi is one of the most patriotic states in this country, it was over a hundred years, Patrick, before the 4th of July was ever celebrated again in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Over a hundred years, they did not celebrate the 4th of July.
That's the bitterness that was there given the Great Siege, but Grant proved his persistence He gets promoted to command of all the armies, and particularly the army.
I guess he's going to oversee Meade in the Army of the Potomac.
And his whole thing is no fancy strategy.
Starting in, essentially, I think late April, early May of 1864, he's got a plan.
And that plan is, we're going to drive south, basically on Route 1.
We're going to leave Washington.
We're now headquartered Our army's in Northern Virginia.
We're gonna march to Richmond, which is about 100 miles away.
We're gonna march to Richmond down essentially Route 1 or I-95, basically.
We're gonna march down there and we're gonna fight this thing out.
The first couple of days are so horrific.
at Spotsylvania in the wilderness that all the Union officers and the enlistment thinks, well, OK, we've seen this before.
This is going to end this and we'll just we'll wait till next year.
And Grant sends that telegram to Lincoln that says, I intend to fight it out along this line if it takes all summer.
And that was the beginning of, I think, part of the end of the Confederacy.
But The South once again went on offense.
Tell us about the 4th of July of 1864, brother.
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
1864 is, you know, as you mentioned, General Grant takes command, and he has a plan to attack the Confederacy from multiple fronts.
But As we see in the summer of 1864, it's not going well for the Union at all.
In fact, they're fighting along the same ground in northern Virginia.
Lee is prevailing in the battles even though Grant continues prevails in the battles, and then other fronts are also
stalling.
There's massive amounts of Union desertions at this time.
The war is not going well for the Union.
What the South does is it realizes that it doesn't need to win the war, it merely needs
to survive.
And, you know, as we see in most insurgencies during the 20th and 21st century, they win
if they have the population support and they merely survive.
And the South feels that it's in a position to do that, so it turns to irregular warfare
to extend its chances.
And one of the things that it does is it activates the Confederate Secret Service.
They send, you know, Jefferson Davis sends his best spies to Canada with millions of dollars in gold to basically bribe the, you know, potentially foreign powers, but also that they work with the Democratic Party at the time.
And it's here in the summer of 1864 that they basically write the campaign platform for the Democratic Party.
Which is an armistice, because they believe that the war is a forever war that can never be won.
And it's an insurgency.
And in some ways, they have a legitimate point.
The northern population hates the war, and then they start to basically funnel money to northern newspapers to write stories about the forever war and how it's unwinnable.
And then what happens is the South also goes on the offense, as you mentioned.
The Battle of Lynchburg, where General Hunter, who's moving out of West Virginia along with General Crook, attacks Lynchburg, but Lee rushes Jubal Early's corps, which is roughly 14,000 strong, by rail to Lynchburg, and they repel Hunter.
Instead of retreating to Washington, He doesn't, he doesn't want to retreat to Washington because John Singleton Mosby's rangers are in the way and he might, his supply line might be cut.
So instead he retreats to West Virginia and the army is to endure this like death camp like march, like the baton death march.
Many guys just die of heat exhaustion.
It's a horrendous march back to West Virginia, but it opens up the way to the, to Washington DC.
And the Shenandoah Valley and Early's army is marching straight up or straight down the valley towards Washington D.C., unimpeded.
And they don't know where he's going.
They think he's potentially going to to Baltimore.
He might be going to Pittsburgh.
They're not sure.
And Grant dithers.
He realizes that this is the diversion, but he dithers and he doesn't dispatch more men to deal with it.
And it's around the 4th of July that the Unvanquished plays a huge role in this whole thing, because this is a special operations mission to take not only the capital of the United States, but also free the largest prisoner of war camp at Camp Lookout, where the Confederates have over 10,000 men.
And it's near the 4th, and Jubal Early is Lee's a bad old man. That's his nickname. He's just a cantankerous
guy that wins battles, but he hates John Singleton Mosby and he doesn't coordinate
with him. And this potentially has a devastating effect on the entire operation. But Mosby on
the 4th of July attacks the Point of Rocks where there is a B&O railroad hub there, which
connects Harper's Ferry and all the troops that are there to Washington DC.
And they sever the line, which is crucial.
And they raid the, it's called the Calico Raid, and they move out.
But it's at this time that Jewel Early, instead of pivoting towards Baltimore, pivots towards Washington, D.C.
itself.
And it's at Monocacy near Rockville, or Frederick, Maryland, I should say, that the North makes one of the epic battles under Lou Wallace, who's the author of Ben-Hur later in life.
And it's here that he buys time, kind of like Washington's Immortals during the American Revolution.
And he's burning precious hours to protect the Capitol, which is empty of men.
Practically, they had all been shipped down to the siege at Petersburg.
And they were terrified because the nation's capital is virtually, it's empty.
There's dozens of forts around the capital, but there's not enough men to man them.
And it's at Monocacy that Lew Wallace burns precious daylight and hours.
But Jubal Early's army is still marching forward.
It's only hours away from D.C., which is still unoccupied, and I have an amazing account in the Unvanquished by McLawson, who's the cavalry commander for Early's Men.
He has his eyes in here, it's not J.E.B.
Stewart.
J.E.B.
unidentified
Stewart was killed in battle.
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
And it's here that, right outside of American University, near one of the forts, it was completely empty.
And McClosken could see the lights of Georgetown.
unidentified
He had a complete path into the city.
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
And they were desperate to stop him.
And my uncle, my great, great, great uncle, who was with the 150th Ohio, was thrust out in front of Jubal Early's massive army of over 10,000 men as they were bearing down.
And it's Lincoln who's at Fort Stevens.
As the 7th Corps is coming to the Washington Navy Yard in literally an hour before their earliest about to take Washington, D.C.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
The old man almost took it.
It was shocking.
That's how close it was.
Patrick, we're going to take a break here for a second.
I want to thank Birch Gold for being our sponsor.
We've got one more block to go.
Love doing this on the 4th of July.
General Crook, you heard his name.
General Crook.
A lot of activity as a general in the Civil War, the episode you just heard.
Later, in 1876, he was also the other column that tried to get and meet.
He was the pincer move, one part of the pincer move for General Custer.
I think it was on the Rosebud River where he fought the battle.
And then in 1886, ten years after that, General Crook, the greatest of all of our Indian fighters, led the U.S.
Cavalry in the Apache War and was the individual that tracked down Geronimo.
General Crook from the Union Army.
Okay, short commercial break.
We want to thank Birchgold.
Birchgold.com slash Bannon.
Go check it out today.
unidentified
On the 4th of July, maybe check it out tomorrow.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
We're going to commemorate and celebrate today.
Patrick K. O'Donnell.
unidentified
We'll have a few closing thoughts in a moment.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
General Nelson Miles, our second greatest Indian fire, actually relieved General Crook
and was the actual general that ended the Apache wars and brought Geronimo in.
If you haven't had an opportunity out in Arizona and New Mexico and Texas, just absolutely amazing.
Colorado, the story of the American West, particularly up all the way to Montana, Wyoming, all of it.
The U.S.
Calvary, if you get a shot over the weekend, maybe start John Ford's Calvary Trilogy.
Was it Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio Grande.
Three amazing, amazing films.
Calvary Trilogy of John Ford.
Patrick K. O'Donnell, I want to thank you again for taking time away on the 4th of July.
How do people get your books?
The best way to start to understand American combat history is to start with a book of Patrick K. O'Donnell.
They're easy to read like novels.
Where'd they go, folks?
Where'd they go, Patrick?
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
Amazon.com has all the reviews, including the Wall Street Journal.
It's a best-selling book.
It's the book of the month for me, for history.
for the unvanquished.
Barnes & Noble, the front of the store.
It's right there, usually at the front of the store.
It's been a best-selling book for them as well, and it's done extremely well.
Many thanks to the posse and the war room.
You can find me at At Combat Historian on Twitter or X, as well as Getter, and my website, which is my name, patrickkodonald.com.
All my books are there, and the reviews are there, too.
Today, it's been a real honor to be with you, Steve.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
Well, we do this for all of our big commemorations, right?
Whether it's Combat History of Christmas or the Fourth of July or Memorial Day.
Honored to have you on here, sir.
The Posse loves your books.
Every time you give a talk, you go to your website, see when Patrick's going to talk again.
They love to see it.
So, Patrick, thank you so much for helping us commemorate the combat history of the Fourth of July, sir.
patrick k odonnel ▲ ● ▼
It's an honor, Steve.
unidentified
Thank you.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
One thing you've got to understand is that anything of value this country has not been handed to people.
It's been fought for.
And obviously our leaders, you know, you have people like Robert E. Lee and Grant and General Crook, you know, President Lincoln.
But if you really study the history of it, it's these amazing small moments like We talked earlier about the American Thermopylae.
Think about it for a second.
In Brooklyn, New York.
In Brooklyn, New York, now the hipster capital of America.
Now, this is not particularly in a hipster part of Brooklyn, but you have a grave of, I think, About 250 individuals who were all from fairly prominent families in Maryland at the time, the Washington's Immortals.
But right there, the American Thermopylae, if they had not held that position for a couple of hours, the American, the Continental Army would have never been able to get actually to survive.
And at that time, the whole point of the revolution came down could could the Continental Army hang together just hang on long enough and of course the American Dunkirk right there at Brooklyn Heights right near where the Brooklyn Bridge is today and you don't see any commemoration don't you see any plaques down there somehow we have to change that but around New York City in Manhattan just amazing battles fought in the opening really the opening stage of the of the American Revolution
Okay, I want to thank everybody who's done the production today.
That means Parker, Sig, and the entire team, both the Palm Beach Studios, the DC Studios, Denver particularly.
I want to thank the guys in Denver.
We're so proud of doing these specials and it takes a lot of big effort, team effort.
My own production team.
I want to make sure you share this over the weekend.
We'll play this again as we always do in the afternoon on the big holidays.
unidentified
Until then, go have a great Fourth of July.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
Just remember what we've had to sacrifice for it.
Not simply the Declaration of Independence, but what enforced The Declaration of Independence.
That would be the grit, determination, and indefatigability of the American people.
That's the fight we've got today.
We will never quit, ever.
unidentified
Remember, the only way we lose, if we quit... Okay, one of my favorite songs, the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
That says something, being a Southerner.
Battle Hymn of the Republic.
steve bannon ▲ ● ▼
We're going to leave you with that.
unidentified
Happy 4th of July.
back here in the world.
His day is marching on!
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never sound retreat.
He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat.
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him!
Be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on!
Glory!
Glory!
Hallelujah!
Glory!
Glory!
Hallelujah!
Glory!
Glory!
Hallelujah, our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea.
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free while God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
While God is marching on.
Glory.
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
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