The Unknown Soldiers Podcast

James Houser
  • 5.0 (47)
  • History
  • Updated Monthly

Host James Houser tackles forgotten wars, battles, and perspectives of military history from across the ages and across the globe. Whether it's the women of the American Revolution, lost Indian kingdoms, neglected World War II campaigns or medieval power struggles, this podcast sheds light on real people with real stories...who don't deserve to be Unknown Soldiers.

  1. 2d ago

    Short Round: Refugees of Liberty - The German Forty-Eighters in America & the Civil War

    Episode #71, "The Crown from the Gutter", ended with the defeat of the German Revolutions of 1848. But what happened to all those idealistic young rebels and radicals after their revolutions were crushed and they had to skip town? A lot of them got on a boat…and made their way to the United States of America. History remembers them as the Forty-Eighters. But soon the Forty-Eighters ended up in ANOTHER great struggle for liberty, this time to break the chains of slavery. Because over 200,000 German-Americans, led by the revolutionary exiles of 1848, fought for the Union Army in the American Civil War. Ten years after they had fought for freedom in Germany and lost, the Forty-Eighters, both men and women, fought for freedom in America. And this time, they won. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-wars-of-german-unification-source-list

    Short Round: Refugees of Liberty - The German Forty-Eighters in America & the Civil War

  2. Sep 21

    Episode #71: Germany Part 1 - The Crown from the Gutter

    Before the 19th Century, there was no such thing as Germany. Not yet. The German people were scattered across dozens of separate countries, dominated by Austria and Prussia. But an idea was loose in Europe - that a people should rule themselves, that a nation should be free - and that idea was about to catch fire. In Part 1 of the Wars of German Unification series, our big "context" episode, we trace the origins of German nationalism, the epic rivalry of Austria and Prussia, the influence of the French Revolution and Napoleon on German history, and the rising tide of revolution that led to the European Spring. Because to understand the Wars of German Unification, the battles and the iron and the blood, we have to start with the first attempt to unify Germany, the one that failed. We have to start with the road not taken. We have to start with 1848. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-wars-of-german-unification-source-list Music: Haydn String Quartet In C Major Emperor Hob Iii 77 Op 76 No 3 Movement 2, by Lynnepublishing via Pond5.com https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/92945102-haydn-string-quartet-c-major-emperor-hob-iii-77-op-76-no-3-m "Phoenix Uprising" by Allwaves via Pond5.com https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/302066823-phoenix-rising-cinematic-trailer-theme-rebellion-sacrifice-i Chasing Daylight by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckley Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Voice of Earth by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Juggernaut by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Episode #71: Germany Part 1 - The Crown from the Gutter

  3. Sep 14

    Introduction to the Wars of German Unification

    A brief introduction to the upcoming Wars of German Unification series, debuting September 21. Don't know your Kaisers from your Pfizers or your Prussias from your Ushers? Find the answers here! Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-wars-of-german-unification-source-list Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/maps-germany-part-1 Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod Email me: unknownsoldierspodcast@gmail.com

    Introduction to the Wars of German Unification

  4. Aug 31

    Episode #70: Do You Hear the People Sing? A Primer on French Revolutions, 1789-1848

    In 1789, a mob stormed a fortress called the Bastille…and the world would never be the same. Over the next sixty years, the French rose up again…and again…and again, from 1789 to 1848, revolution after revolution after revolution, one great struggle that refused to end, one song that refused to die. Or...James Houser's Cliff Notes version of French history from 1789 to 1848. Guillotines, flags, songs, speeches, and more than a little blood. The revolution will not always be civilized...but it will transform the world. Sources: coming soon (in the large German Wars of Unification source list) Music: Brahms, Tragic Overture, Op No. 81, performed by The Czech National Symphony Orchestra. CC. "Phoenix Uprising" by Allwaves via Pond5.com https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/302066823-phoenix-rising-cinematic-trailer-theme-rebellion-sacrifice-i "La Marseillaise", U.S. Navy Band c. 1987, public domain, from en.wikipedia.org "Military" by florews, via Pond5.com: https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/111522136-military-epic-patriotic-cinematic "Epic Finale" by Hakaneriksson, via Pond5.com https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/59734878-epic-finale Hearts Of Iron by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Royalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, Op No. 67, performed by the Fulda Symphonic Orchestra. CC. Chasing Daylight by Scott Buckley | https://soundcloud.com/scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Independence Day by florewsmusic, via Pond5.com: https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/197352388-independence-day-american-military-patriotic-national-backgr

    Episode #70: Do You Hear the People Sing? A Primer on French Revolutions, 1789-1848

  5. Jun 15

    Episode #69: Engines of Hell

    Sometime in the 800s AD, a Chinese alchemist wrote the first description of what he called "huo yao" or "fire medicine." This was the birth of a technology that some described as inhuman, devilish, satanic, like it was too wicked to be made by human hands - but no one could afford to ignore it. Because if they didn't invent it, someone else would. This is the global story of gunpowder and the gun, from its Chinese origins to the industrial revolution. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-69-engines-of-hell Music: Iron And Granite by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deckRoyalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Ring Of Iron by WombatNoisesAudio | https://soundcloud.com/user-734462061Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US "Gentlemen at War" by PlayAgain via Pond5.com Lock And Load by Hayden Folker | https://soundcloud.com/hayden-folkerRoyalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

    Episode #69: Engines of Hell

  6. May 11

    Episode #68: The Hussite Wars, Part 2

    The Hussite Revolution has defeated two crusades, the might of the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire and the medieval nobility - but now the internal struggles begin. Moderates against radicals, cities versus countryside, upper class versus lower classes. The Hussites stand ascendant over all their other enemies...but can they conquer their own internal demons? Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episodes-67-and-68-the-hussite-wars-parts-1-and-2 Music: Bloodlust by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Viking Intro by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.comRoyalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ War Shout by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.comRoyalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Epic Cinematic Dramatic Music | Tragedy by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US Simple Gifts – Cooper Cannell

    Episode #68: The Hussite Wars, Part 2

  7. Apr 6

    Episode #67: The Hussite Wars, Part 1

    A simple priest named Jan Hus gently suggests that the Catholic Church might be wrong about a few things - so they burn him at the stake, and ignite a holy war. The Church calls a crusade against Hus’s followers, the Hussites and all of Europe takes up arms against the heretics. The Hussites’ only hope is a one-eyed mercenary named Jan Žižka, and his revolutionary tactics that are so crazy they just might work. Fire, faith and thunder roll over the hills of Bohemia. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episodes-67-and-68-the-hussite-wars-parts-1-and-2 Music: Bloodlust by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ring Of Iron by WombatNoisesAudio | https://soundcloud.com/user-734462061Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US The Great Battle by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.comRoyalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hearts Of Iron by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Royalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

    Episode #67: The Hussite Wars, Part 1

  8. Feb 23

    Episode #66: The Battle of the Golden Spurs

    In the year 1302, the people of Flanders revolted against their French overlords. They were just a bunch of peasants and townspeople, with simple weapons and little armor - but the French knights were in for a surprise. It’s time to take a deep dive into a single medieval battle - the Battle of Courtrai, where the common people of a small country stood their ground against the most powerful military in medieval Europe. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-66-the-battle-of-the-golden-spurs-maps-and-sources Music: Ring Of Iron by WombatNoisesAudio | https://soundcloud.com/user-734462061Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US "Day One" by LucorMusic via pond5.com

    Episode #66: The Battle of the Golden Spurs
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Host James Houser tackles forgotten wars, battles, and perspectives of military history from across the ages and across the globe. Whether it's the women of the American Revolution, lost Indian kingdoms, neglected World War II campaigns or medieval power struggles, this podcast sheds light on real people with real stories...who don't deserve to be Unknown Soldiers.

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