VIOLENT BIRTHRIGHT: 6/8 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
4.6 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
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.
Transcript
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| 1:04.8 | This is CBS Island World. |
| 1:06.6 | I'm John Batchel with Patrick O'Donnell, |
| 1:08.3 | the author of the new book, The Indispensibles, |
| 1:10.7 | the story of the marble headers The Indispensibles, The Story of the Marbleheaders, The Fishermen, Who Become the Strength of Washington's Ability to Cross Water in the turmoil of the Continental Army battle with the British regulars, |
| 1:23.8 | first-rate British soldiers. |
| 1:26.2 | It is now December 25th, 1776 at McConkey's Ferry on the Delaware River. |
| 1:35.1 | Washington's 2400 volunteers in winter quarters are ordered to cross the river to attack Trenton, |
| 1:43.6 | but crossing the river means that you must deal with ice flows in the Delaware and another |
| 1:50.3 | Nor'easter. |
| 1:51.7 | Patrick, there's a painting at the Museum of Art in New York of Washington's crossing. |
| 2:00.0 | It is not necessarily accurate because it was painted over 70, 80 years later, but it does |
| 2:06.1 | convey the challenge of the river. |
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