The Indispensables: Marblehead's Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Acro
The Indispensables: Marblehead's Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Acro
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Publisher's Hardcover ©2021--
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Grove Press
Annotation: 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 who helped to save the Continental Army and to found the navy, and who forged a uniquely diverse fighting unit a century and a half ahead of its time
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #287958
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Grove Press
Copyright Date: 2021
Edition Date: 2021 Release Date: 05/18/21
Pages: xiii, 415 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates
ISBN: 0-8021-5689-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-8021-5689-1
Dewey: 973.3
LCCN: 2021022845
Dimensions: 24 cm
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

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.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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)

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Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Bibliography Index/Note: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Reading Level: 6.0
Interest Level: 9+

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.


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