The only thing standing between John Yates Beall and the Confederate prisoners-of-war on Johnson's Island was the USS Michigan... Well, that and a terrible con man and the cowardice of his own men.

https://order-of-the-jackalope.com/resist-at-your-peril/

(This episode is part two of Rapscallions!, a three-part series about Confederate cloak-and-dagger operations in the final year of the Civil War. Part three will be released on 10/7.)

Key sources for this episode include Adam Mayers' Dixie and the Dominion: Canada, the Confederacy, and the War for the Union; John Bell's Rebels on the Great Lakes: Confederate Naval Commando Operations Launched from Canada, 1863-1864; Duane Schultz's The Dahlgren Affair: Terror and Conspiracy in the Civil War; William A. Tidwell's April '65: Confederate Covert Action in the American Civil War; and The Memoir of John Yates Beall: His Life, Trial; Correspondence, Diary, and Private Manuscript Found Among His Papers, Including His Own Account of the Raid on Lake Erie.

• Erie Maritime Museum: https://www.eriemaritimemuseum.org
• Johnson's Island Preservation Society: https://johnsonsisland.org

This week we're promoting our favorite podcast, The Constant! Every other Tuesday Mark Chrisler looks at the accidents, mistakes, and bad ideas that helped shape our world. If you like our show, you'll love this one too! https://www.constantpodcast.com/

I'll be presenting at the Intelligent Speech conference on February 8, 2025! Register now at https://intelligentspeechonline.com/ and get 10% off with the promo code JACKALOPE!

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The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope is a secret society devoted to sharing strange stories and amazing facts. No topic is off limits -- if it's interesting or entertaining, we'll do an episode about it!