The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware

by Patrick K. O'Donnell

Overview

From the bestselling author of Washington’s Immortals and The Unknowns, 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 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.

The Marblehead Regiment, led by John Glover, became truly indispensable. Marbleheaders 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. Later, Marblehead doctor Nathaniel Bond inoculated the Continental Army against a deadly virus, which changed the course of history.

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 Marbleheaders’ chronicle, never fully told before now, makes The Indispensables a vital addition to the literature of the American Revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802156891
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	13,340
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Patrick K. O’Donnell is a bestselling, critically acclaimed military historian and an expert on elite units. The author of twelve books, including The Unknowns and Washington’s Immortals, and a Fellow at Mount Vernon, he is the recipient of numerous national awards. O’Donnell served as a combat historian in a Marine rifle platoon during the Battle of Fallujah and is a professional speaker on America’s conflicts, espionage, special operations, and counterinsurgency. He has provided historical consulting for DreamWorks’ award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers and for documentaries produced by the BBC, the History Channel, and Discovery.

Table of Contents

Prologue xi

Chapter 1 Seeds of Rebellion 1

Chapter 2 Marblehead's Leading Families 9

Chapter 3 Massacre and Tea 17

Chapter 4 A Virus and the Revenge of the Loyalists 26

Chapter 5 Boston Port Act 33

Chapter 6 Gunpowder 38

Chapter 7 Arms Race and a Fledgling Government 43

Chapter 8 The Marblehead Regiment 53

Chapter 9 The Forgotten First Shots: The Raid on Fort William and Mary 59

Chapter 10 Salem Nearly Ignites the Revolutionary War 70

Chapter 11 Prelude to War: Rendezvous at Black Horse Tavern 82

Chapter 12 First Blood at Lexington: Disarming the Americans 90

Chapter 13 Concord 96

Chapter 14 The Bloody Gauntlet 101

Chapter 15 Siege, the Army of New England, and Mr. Gerry 108

Chapter 16 The Loyalists 114

Chapter 17 Tyranny, Victims, and the American Narrative 120

Chapter 18 Bunker Hill 126

Chapter 19 General George Washington Arrives in Cambridge 145

Chapter 20 Washington's Covert Navy 151

Chapter 21 Broughton's Odyssey 159

Chapter 22 "This Instance of Divine Favour": Captain John Manley and the Capture of the Nancy 170

Chapter 23 Snowball Fight and a Diverse Regiment 179

Chapter 24 Beverly 185

Chapter 25 Washington's Life Guard and Lifting the Siege of Boston 194

Chapter 26 Dark Days and Hope 204

Chapter 27 Killing Washington and the Invasion 213

Chapter 28 "We Wish to Give Them Another Drubbing": Fire Ships and Invasion 222

Chapter 29 The Decision 234

Chapter 30 American Dunkirk 238

Chapter 31 Kips Bay 246

Chapter 32 The Forgotten Battles That Saved Washington's Army 260

Chapter 33 White Plains 272

Chapter 34 The Darkest Days 278

Chapter 35 Counterattack 291

Chapter 36 The Crossing 297

Chapter 37 Trenton: The Tide Turns 305

Chapter 38 The Epic Stand at Assunpink Creek 319

Chapter 39 Princeton 330

Chapter 40 Home and Back 338

Dramatis Personae 351

Acknowledgments 357

Notes 361

Index 403

Editorial Reviews

02/08/2021

Historian O’Donnell (Washington’s Immortals) offers a comprehensive look at the “indispensable” role of the Marblehead Regiment in the Revolutionary War. Made up of veteran seafarers from the region around Marblehead, Mass., the unit included free African Americans as well as Native Americans. Sketching the buildup to the war, O’Donnell profiles lesser-known historical figures including the regiment’s commander, John Glover, and Elbridge Gerry, signer of the Declaration of Independence and eponym for the term “gerrymandering,” and details how England’s “Intolerable Acts,” designed as punishment for the Boston Tea Party, led to the formation of militia companies and the stockpiling of military supplies. He delves into the origins of the Continental Navy and the Commander-in-Chief’s Life Guard, an early version of the secret service, and recounts how Marbleheaders ferried troops across the Delaware River for the Battle of Trenton and evacuated Continental Army soldiers from the earlier Battle of Brooklyn, an operation later known as “America’s Dunkirk.” O’Donnell also offers fresh insights into obscure yet crucial engagements at New York’s Throgs Neck and White Plains, and New Jersey’s Assunpink Creek. Revolutionary War buffs will delight in the copious details and vivid battle scenes. Agent: Eve Attermann, WME. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Indispensables:

“Having saved the fledgling American army from complete destruction at the Battle of Long Island and made Washington’s Christmas Day counterstroke at Trenton possible, the Marblehead Regiment truly was Washington’s indispensable force. Patrick K. O’Donnell’s gift for storytelling brings the once famous regiment back to life, as he takes readers from the highest war councils to the grime and grit of battle, as it was keenly felt by the hard-bitten Marbleheaders. In this vivid and brilliant narrative, O’Donnell demonstrates that he is at the top of his game, as he has now written the one indispensable book on the early and most trying days of the American Revolution.”—Dr. James Lacey, author of The Washington War

“Once again Patrick K. O’Donnell has succeeded in shedding new light on a previously overlooked or unappreciated aspect of American military history. The Indispensables is absolutely fascinating, a beautifully written account of men at war, with great issues in the balance. I know of no finer or more insightful historian of the American soldier’s experience than O’Donnell. Highest recommendation!”—John C. McManus, author of Fire and Fortitude: The U.S. Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943

“Perfectly paced and powerfully wrought, this is the story of common men who gave everything for an ideal—America. The product of meticulous research, The Indispensables is the perfect reminder of who we are, when we need it most.”—Adam Makos, author of the New York Times bestseller A Higher Call

“This is an amazing book about not just a regiment but a community. People from Marblehead contributed to every aspect of the American Revolution’s drama, politically and militarily, in the legislature and on the battlefield, on land and at sea. Patrick O’Donnell gives us a fast-paced, exciting look at Marblehead’s people, men and women, Black, white and Native American, soldier, politician and townsperson, Patriot and Loyalist, a community as diverse as the Revolution itself.”—Don N. Hagist, author of The Revolution’s Last Men and editor of the Journal of the Revolution

“As the American colonies started down the road to American states, localities would often unite under their community leaders for the great struggle they sensed they were a part of. Such was the case of John Glover and his band of Marblehead sailor-soldiers. Historian Patrick K. O’Donnell sets forth in a gripping narrative the transformation of this New England town as it moves from protest to armed revolution. It is a fascinating, unique journey of a band of Massachusetts rebels who play a critical role in George Washington’s, and America’s, success and independence. Mr. O’Donnell’s work is a valuable contribution to furthering our understanding of the role of common soldiers and sailors in America’s founding.”—Todd W. Braisted, author of Grand Forage 1778

Praise for Patrick K. O’Donnell:

“One of our finest military historians who has few equals as a great storyteller.”—Carlo D’Este, author of Patton, A Genius for War and Eisenhower, A Soldier’s Life

“Few authors have the same kind of enthusiasm and gusto that O’Donnell brings to his topic. His gift is taking the reader from the map room to the battlefield. It’s an exciting, often harrowing, trip worth taking.”—USA Today

“O’Donnell admirably blends a story of ardent farmers, merchants and mariners with a combat story of sharp, bloody engagements . . . An example of combat writing at its best.”—Wall Street Journal, on Washington’s Immortals

“Patrick O’Donnell is blessed with a rare gift for storytelling and a keen empathy for the realities of soldiers in combat. He walks in the footsteps of his subjects like few other historians are able—or willing—to do.”—John C. McManus, Ph.D., author of The Dead and Those About to Die and Deadly Sky

From the Publisher

03/26/2021

Military historian O'Donnell's (Washington's Immortals; The Unknowns) latest book is a straightforward overview of the Marblehead Regiment, which he says played an important supporting role in the earliest stages of the Revolutionary War by ensuring Gen. George Washington's safety. Extensive maps guide readers along as they follow individual soldiers within the Massachusetts-based regiment and the tensions that developed between Patriots and Loyalists in the town of Marblehead. The narrative is at its best when chronicling often overlooked figures from the Revolutionary War, such as Col. Edward Hand, an Irish surgeon who married an American and fought in the Continental Army, and Col. John Glover, a fisherman—turned—brigadier general who helped lead the army to victory. The author describes how the Marblehead Regiment fought alongside Washington and even ferried him and his troops across the Delaware for a surprise attack in the middle of winter. VERDICT O'Donnell has made a career of shedding light on underreported yet interesting incidents in American wars, but his writing often veers into hagiography. This book will attract Revolutionary War enthusiasts, but it pales in comparison to Winning Independence, by John Ferling, which offers a comprehensive look at pivotal moments of the war.—David Keymer, Cleveland

Library Journal

2021-02-25
The Revolutionary War achievements of a Massachusetts regiment that, while not necessarily indispensable, deserves this admirable history.

Prolific military historian O’Donnell begins with a history of Marblehead, Massachusetts, the second-largest New England town during this period. With an economy driven by fishing, its citizens were already primed to dislike British officials, who heavily regulated the trade and outraged its sailors by impressing them into the Royal Navy. Following the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the oppression of Britain’s “Intolerable Acts,” Marblehead citizens formed their own committees of correspondence, Sons of Liberty, and minutemen—a bumpy process because the city contained a pugnacious and often subversive loyalist faction. By the time fighting broke out in 1775, the town militia consisted of a series of companies that ultimately formed a regiment led by John Glover, “the most experienced officer.” As the author points out, the forces included a surprising number of Blacks and Native soldiers. O’Donnell delivers an expert history of the first two years of the Revolution, with an emphasis on Glover’s regiment. After the siege of Boston, Glover and his troops accompanied George Washington south to New York, where he suffered the disastrous defeat on Long Island. The author demonstrates—and most historians agree—that Washington’s army was saved by a secret overnight evacuation to Manhattan in boats manned by Marblehead seamen. The regiment performed well during Washington’s retreat across Manhattan and New Jersey before truly winning glory by conveying troops across the ice-choked Delaware to the heralded victory at Trenton in December 1776. Other units failed to cross. During this period, many Marbleheaders fitted out vessels as privateers whose captains and crews, many from Glover’s regiment, began seizing British merchant vessels, marking the “origins of the US Navy.” By January, the regiment’s enlistments expired, and many, sick and often wounded, walked the 300 miles back to their now-impoverished city—though some stayed to fight.

A vivid account of an impressive Revolutionary War unit and a can’t-miss choice for fans of O’Donnell’s previous books.

Kirkus Reviews