In Virginia at a place where Rogues Road and Grapewood Drive meet, there’s a black and white sign that tells the story of a violent skirmish between a group of determined Confederate soldiers and their Union pursuers.

Patrick O’Donnell spotted that single marker in rural Virginia — he calls it history in plain sight — and it ignited years of research on a Civil War era cadre of special forces who were tasked by President Abraham Lincoln to undertake spy operations and secret missions against Confederate units.

The book, “The Unvanquished,” also delves deep into the brazen Confederate irregulars, led by John Mosby, who ambushed Union platoons, foiled their victories and raided the homes of Union-allied landowners.

O’Donnell, who says ideas for books often spring from innocuous markers or monuments, writes that he is concerned about diminishing knowledge about American history.  

“Like an archeologist, I strive to unearth shards from the past and objectively meld them together to bring a complete, meaningful and often previously untold story,” he writes.

— Kerri Miller | MPR News