VIOLENT BIRTHRIGHT: 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
4.6 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2025
⏱️ 10 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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| 0:00.0 | The weather. Tomorrow, expect a biting cold front. Hmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be |
| 0:06.9 | wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you |
| 0:13.8 | to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise slowly but surely reaching their peak in the afternoon. |
| 0:21.3 | Not in the mood for miserable weather? |
| 0:23.5 | Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express. |
| 0:26.3 | Sun Express, non-stop sunshine. |
| 0:34.5 | This is CBS. I'm the world. |
| 0:36.4 | I'm John Batcher. Patrick O'Donnell. His new book is The Indispensibles. The story of the Marbleheaders, Marblehead of 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, and one of the wonderful discoveries in this book |
| 0:56.0 | is how much the story of the Marbleheaders are still with us, through plaques, through houses, |
| 1:02.8 | through memories, through statues. |
| 1:05.0 | Patrick, take us to Marblehead today. |
| 1:07.6 | Is there recognition of the sacrifice of the town? |
| 1:12.7 | I believe you report at the end, |
| 1:18.2 | there was something more than 350 widows when the war ended. I mentioned John Glover, for example, |
| 1:25.8 | who marched back to Marblehead in late 76. He is again brought back by Washington, who entreated him to come back to fight for Washington. |
| 1:28.8 | He made him a general. |
| 1:30.4 | And Glover goes on to fight with Gates at Saratoga. |
| 1:34.0 | Glover stays in the war all the way to 82. |
| 1:36.5 | 1782, the Marbleheaders were the backbone of many of these successes. |
| 1:42.7 | But today, what is remembered? |
| 1:45.1 | Let's start with John Glover. |
| 1:46.5 | What is in Marblehead for people to find, Patrick? |
... |
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