THAT NIGHT, MARBLEHEADERS IN WASHINGTON'S BOAT. 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 (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 30 June 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
THAT NIGHT, MARBLEHEADERS IN WASHINGTON'S BOAT. 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 (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Indispensables-Marbleheads-Soldier-Mariners-Washington-Delaware/dp/0802156894
On the stormy night of August 29, 1776, the Continental Army faced capture or annihilation after losing the Battle of Brooklyn. The British had trapped George Washington’s forces against the East River, and the fate of the Revolution rested upon the shoulders of the soldier-mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Serving side by side in one of the country’s first diverse units, they pulled off an “American Dunkirk” and saved the army by transporting it across the treacherous waters of the river to Manhattan.
In the annals of the American Revolution, no group played a more consequential role than the Marbleheaders. At the right time in the right place, they repeatedly altered the course of events, and their story shines new light on our understanding of the Revolution. As acclaimed historian Patrick K. O’Donnell dramatically recounts, beginning nearly a decade before the war started, and in the midst of a raging virus that divided the town politically, Marbleheaders such as Elbridge Gerry and Azor Orne 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.
1914 WASHINGTON INSPETS CAPTURED HESSIAN COLORS
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is CBS. I'm the world. I'm John Batchel. Patrick O'Donnell. His new book is The Indispensibles. The story of the Marbleheaders, Marbleheadle, Massachusetts. The diverse soldier mariners who shaped the country formed the Navy and rode Washington across the Delaware. Patrick is an historian of the 21st century, |
| 0:22.6 | and one of the wonderful discoveries in this book is how much the story of the Marbleheaders are still with us, |
| 0:30.4 | through plaques, through houses, through memories, through statues. Patrick, take us to Marblehead |
| 0:36.8 | today. Is there recognition of the sacrifice of the town? |
| 0:41.3 | I believe you report at the end there was something more than 350 widows when the war ended. |
| 0:46.8 | I mentioned John Glover, for example, who marched back to Marblehead in late 76. He is again |
| 0:52.8 | brought back by Washington, who entreated him to come back to fight for Washington. |
| 0:59.0 | He made him a general. |
| 1:00.5 | And Glover goes on to fight with Gates at Saratoga. |
| 1:04.2 | Glover stays in the war all the way to 82. |
| 1:06.7 | 1782, the Marbleheaders were the backbone of many of these successes. |
| 1:12.8 | But today, what is remembered? |
| 1:15.2 | Let's start with John Glover. |
| 1:16.6 | What is in Marblehead for people to find, Patrick? |
| 1:20.4 | John Glover's house, John, there's not really much in plain sight. |
| 1:25.8 | You have to sort of dig through it a little bit. |
| 1:29.2 | But for instance, there is a plaque for on John Glover's home, which still exists. |
| 1:34.3 | Jeremiah Lee's house, who is a mansion, it still exists. |
| 1:38.6 | And it's part of the Marblehead Museum, which I highly recommend everybody who is it. |
| 1:43.0 | It's extraordinary. |
| 1:46.3 | And there's even the Three Codds Tavern still exists where Samuel Trevitt, the hero of Bunker Hill, fought off |
| 1:52.2 | British soldiers with a broomstick and a sword fight. You know, there's stuff there. There's |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.