Lieutenant Richard Blazer and his Scouts, part of Lincoln’s special forces, emerged as some of the Civil War’s most unlikely heroes. Despite his unconventional appearance and demeanor, Blazer possessed a deep care for his men and an unwavering determination to protect them. He employed unconventional tactics, including gathering intelligence through friendly conversation and leading from the front, to neutralize the threat posed by Thurmond’s Rangers, a formidable band of Confederate guerrillas. Blazer’s Scouts, part of Lincoln’s special forces, played a crucial role in the development of modern U.S. special operations. Their story is a testament to the importance of unconventional warfare and the dedicated individuals who have shaped its legacy.
Blazer effectively employed a bedrock element of counterinsurgency tactics: intelligence. He operated with kind words and a smile, which loosened tongues. The Ohio officer “questioned every woman and child he saw.” Eliciting the tiniest nuggets of information from deliberate shoe-leather detective work, he assembled and fitted the intelligence into a mosaic that resided exclusively in his mind.
At about midnight on their first patrol, the hunters halted and made camp. While his men slept, Blazer kept guard. Leading by example, he willingly endured the same hardships as his men. Before dawn, the men broke camp to resume the manhunt. They wove silently through the mountain trails for over an hour until the camp of unsuspecting sleeping Confederates came into view.
The Yankee lieutenant fired a volley into Thurmond’s bivouac as the Scouts yelled, charged and managed to capture over a dozen prisoners, horses, and a small herd of cattle before their enemy was fully awake. After a brief firefight, the remnants of Thurmond’s gang fled, disappearing into the mountains.
Thurmond’s Rangers would prove to be a worthy adversary against which Richard Blazer and Lincoln’s Special Forces honed the skills they would use to hunt the greatest American guerrilla warrior of all time: John Singleton Mosby and his Rangers.
