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The John Batchelor Show

S8 Ep330: BUNKER HILL, SMALLPOX, AND TREASON Colleague Patrick O'Donnell. The discussion moves to June 1775, covering the Battle of Bunker Hill where Marbleheader Samuel Trevett's cannons successfully repelled British charges despite a critical lack of gunpowder. O

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Books, Society & Culture, News, Arts

4.62.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2026

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

BUNKER HILL, SMALLPOX, AND TREASON Colleague Patrick O'Donnell. The discussion moves to June 1775, covering the Battle of Bunker Hill where Marbleheader Samuel Trevett's cannons successfully repelled Britishcharges despite a critical lack of gunpowder. O'Donnell also details a smallpox epidemic in Marblehead, where a Patriot-funded inoculation hospital on Cat Island was burned down by a mob of Loyalists. Amidst this turmoil, John Glover defended his home with a cannon in his foyer. The segment also reveals the duplicity of Dr. Benjamin Church, a high-ranking Patriot leader who was secretly providing intelligence to General Gage. NUMBER 3
1819

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:39.7

This is CBSI in the world.

0:41.7

I'm John Batchel with Patrick O'Donnell.

0:43.6

His book The Indispensibles, the story of the marble headers through the Revolutionary War, also a civil war.

0:50.8

And it is now 1775.

0:53.7

We go to the very famous Bunker's Hill, which is also Breeds Hill,

0:58.9

in Charlestown, outside of Boston Harbor. And what's critical here is not that the Patriots

1:06.2

will be overrun by the attacking British Redcoats. What's critical is the Marbleheaders' participation and their

1:12.6

opinion of their fight that day. Patrick, again and again, I'm reminded that the revolution was about

1:19.6

gunpowder. You've made it very clear that you can have all these intentions to live free,

1:25.6

but if you can't shoot back, they're going to come to

1:28.8

nothing. The gunpowder at Bunker Hill, was that provided by the Committee of Supply and Safety?

1:35.3

Was that Marbleheader gunpowder? Yes, it was. In fact, that was the crucial supply. There wasn't enough.

1:46.1

And they were able to repel charge after charge of British charge after charge on the hill.

1:53.6

And then the powder ran out.

1:56.2

And it's Samuel Trebitt has a, this is sort of the untold story that's the revealed really for the first time.

...

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