8/8 Patrick O’Donnell, The Indispensables. #UNBOUND:Complete, 80-minute interview. @combathistorian @Batchelorshow
May 08, 2022, 01:33 AM
Photo: USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerriere, a significant event during the war.
CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor
CBS Audio Network
@Batchelorshow
8/8 The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware, by Patrick K. O'Donnell @combathistorian
An important new chronicle of the American Revolution heralding the heroism of the men from Marblehead, Massachusetts
On the stormy night of August 29, 1776, the Continental Army faced capture or annihilation by the British after losing the Battle of Brooklyn. The fate of the American Revolution rested upon the shoulders of the soldier-mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts.
In the annals of the Revolution, no group played a more consequential role than the Marbleheaders. They repeatedly altered the course of events, and their story shines new light on our understanding of that period. Nearly a decade before the war started, and in the midst of a raging virus that divided the town politically, Marbleheaders had spearheaded the break with Britain and shaped the nascent United States by playing a crucial role governing, building alliances, seizing British ships, forging critical supply lines, and establishing the origins of the US Navy.
The Marblehead Regiment, led by John Glover, became truly indispensable. They battled at Lexington and on Bunker Hill and formed the elite Guard that protected George Washington. Then, at the most crucial time in the war, the special operations–like regiment, against all odds, conveyed 2,400 of Washington’s men across the ice-filled Delaware River on Christmas night 1776, delivering a momentum-shifting surprise attack on Trenton
White, Black, Hispanic, and Native American, this uniquely diverse group of soldiers set an inclusive standard of unity the US Army would not reach again for more than 170 years. The Indispensables is a vital addition to the literature of the American Revolution.