to attend the funeral of former senator mike enzi in wyoming. the defendant is back in session at 11 a.m. eastern on saturday. the senate will continue work on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. it funds of roads, bridges, public transit, railways, water projects, airports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations. when this and is back in session at 11 a.m. eastern you can see live coverage on c-span2. >> next, military historian and author patrick o'donnell on his book "the indispensables." chronicles the marblehead regiment of the continental army during the american revolution which he says played a crucial role in both battle and as protectors of george washington. >> good evening. i'm kevin butterfield executive director of the washington library at george washington's

mount vernon and coming to you from that library for an exciting book talk with patrick o'donnell. i want to thank the ford motor company for sponsoring not just this talk but many, many talks over the years, a great series will be a of authors, talk abt the newest works and doesn't get new in this because this is the book release for this exciting book, "the indispensables." i want to make and one upcoming program in just two nights. river third michelle smith lecture richard bernstein and his new book the education of john adams. they are still available and it's an exciting event. consider joining us wednesday night. the knights exciting program filmedda live from the reading room here at mount vernon is the official book launch a patrick o'donnell new book "the indispensables: the diverse soldier-mariners who shaped the country, formed the navy, and rowed washington across the delaware." officially raised by atlantic monthly press today. i want to let you know of a

number of autographed copies that are going out as gifts to people who submitted questions for this event. we have exciting questions lined up. please also during the knights talk to submit questions and let us know what you want to know from patrick and break ask those questions tonight. this is a great book. i couldn't put it down over the last week. it was reviewed just today in the "wall street journal." they called it a novel like account of the fascinating tour if you're about to hear about from patrick. fast paced writing. it impose very, very quickly. you will learned more about gunpowder than you think you might. an exciting story and plot to hear from this great account of the united states. to tell you more about patrick o'donnell, because he won't tell you these things himself come he's a best-selling critically acclaimed military historian, ,s expert on to the unit. this is his second book on the revolutionary war period. the first one washington's immortal, the untold story the

elite regiment to change the course of the revolution, got him down this path and then he came to the washington library as aon research fellow to work n this book that you're about to hear about. he also has received awards for his book which covered the second world war. this is his 12th book, exciting work done across the years come across the generations picky set up or historical work with american soldiers in combat in iraq. is provided historical consulting work for projects like bandf of brothers for dozs of documentaries of different aspects of american military history and most affordable like i've suggested he worked on his book here at mount vernon as a fellow at the washington library. i'm so excited to welcome you to this talk and entered issued to patrick o'donnell. >> thank you so much, kevin, for that introduction. it's really good to be, to come home. so much of my research for "the indispensables" was here at this

library where i literally rebuilt the marblehead regiment from the ground up from muster rolls using their pension files, diaries, letters, et cetera, to re-create this regiment story which is really truly great. every book i've ever written has been a journey. each one of these books has done in one way or another, this is no exception, but before i embark uponrk a book i was askig very basic question, who cares? why does it matter? literally this library, our country wouldn't be here had itn not been for these individuals that i wrote about, men and women, and "the indispensables." they saved our country multiple times. they shaped our country. they formedsh the navy and they saved washington's army on numerous occasions.

the book is also a window into current events in many ways. it's about a virus that divides americans politically , cancel culture and it's about misinformation and it's about disarmament. there are things in this book that resonate with people but let me take you back right now into one of the most crucial period in the american revolution, the american dunkirk. the battle of brooklyn had just been waged in america had lost badly. washington's army was defeated. the marylanders who i drew a book called washington's immortals had bought us an hour more precious in our history than any other where washington with a rearguard action washington's army was able to retreat into fortifications at brooklyn heights. the british army which had surrounded the american army there was about to come up

with the east river and also siege lines were creeping forward. it was a perilous time. it was a time in our history when all could be lost. washington had a decision to make. was he going to retreat or fight and washington decided to retreat. this is the time when all could be lost. the entire army could be surrounded and destroyed and everything rested upon the shoulders of the men in the book that i've written about, the marblehead men. washington decided to retreat and he had to cross a mile long river, the east river and this is -- let me take you back in time to august 30 . there had been a massive nor'easter that had pelted both armies for two days straight after the battle of brooklyn . each lines and then creeping forward into the american position at brooklyn heights and lord howells army was

closer and closer to annihilatingthe american army . washington decides to escape john glover and the marblehead men they basically gather all the goats that are in manhattan and they man those votes and they very army across the east river. this is not an easy task. the east river at the time is swirling. the wind isn't cooperating and on top of that the loyalists sees what's happening and sends an enslaved individual with in her household to the british line to try to inform lord howell that theamericans are escaping . this individual wonders upon hessian soldiers to speak your german and they're not able to understand what he's trying to say, fortunately. but the americans are evacuating. glover doesn't even know it until a couple hours after the evacuation he had to pull

off, one of the greatest retreats in american history and world history and they man the boat and as a man the boots, the wind doesn't cooperate and the tides are horrendous. but there's something very special about these men. they have worked together for years as a grand base, fishing the grand banks, the most treacherous waters in the world and what makes them unique is they are also arguably the first diverse regiment in theunited states army . here are african-americans, nativeamericans, white is americans , and they work together in grand bay. it's a situation where race didn'tmatter . it was a life and death situation where literally the weather changed, could kill people and they had to rely upon one another and they were relying upon one another that night to pull off one of the greatestretreats in history . as they rode across the river

, tides weren't working. the wind wasn't working. but the entire evacuationwas about to be called off . but the person that was delivering the message to washington couldn't find washington that night. they still went. and glover's men pushed them across and against all odds they conducted the retreat. at that time, the wind changed in the favor of americans. and glover's men were able to transport the army across the east river and in one case almost a dozen times against all odds. and as dawn was coming, a miraculous fog appeared. and screen, continued to scream themovements of the army as it was crossing . and john glover, the marblehead men from massachusetts delivered the army safely, nearly 10,000

men were delivered to safety. this is one reason which makes them indispensable. they saved the army that time but it was one of many situations. and literally two weeks later , the british land again at kips bay. if the marblehead is that make a stand while the rest of the army retreats and it's here that washington is even catatonic as the british are attacking. his horse, he and his horse are frozen practically in time. somebody has to bring him out of the battle as the british are advancing towards him literally as of yards away. marble headers make the stand as the army melts away . the army melts away, the marbleheaders make a rearguard stand and they're able to reform at the battle harlem heights and there's a small victory .

it's the marbleheaders that are involved and it's an interesting operation during this time period where they conduct raids against the british line. the marbleheaders or a precursor to special operations units that we know today . they are doing things that are really special and extraordinary. they launch fire ships against the british. prior to the battle of brooklyn they nearly take out what's the equivalent of british battleships. they launch raids and also for what's known as the guard . the commander-in-chief guard or the lifeguard and the lifeguard is an extraordinary unit. it's a precursor to the secret service. it's washington's hand-picked men that guard him. and it's not a small group of men. it mushrooms up to 200 men and these men are involved in operations, in battles but they also guard his papers.

they act as his aide-de-camp in many ways and it's marbleheaders that leads this unit and shapes it. it's quite an extraordinary story in and of itself but not only do they say and protect the unit but there's a little bit of mystery involved. prior to the battle of brooklyn there are several members of the guard that have leanings towards the british. loyalties if you will they are lured into a plot to assassinate washington. that relatively humble untold story is told in the indispensable's as well. they uncover the plot and the guard protects washington and they take out their own. the first first americans to be executed is a member of the guard but it's a

fascinating story. as the book moves forward it's the indispensable's that are washington's elite force in many of the battles in new york. and the british once again land up in northern part of manhattan. at a place called throngs point and it's here that the marbleheaders how an amphibious invasion from the greatest navy in the world at the time, the royal navy which is an extraordinary feat in and of itself. they land a little bit further up the coast at pelham bay or helen!. it's here that glover's army or i'm sorry, the lovers rigging

which includes the marblehead regiment save thearmy . they fight initially close to the landing point of a fire back and it's a collapsible defense. it's kind of an emerging part of the american way of war which is unique and ever-changing and it's still ever-changing to this day but we were not using conventional tactics of european armies. we were falling back from a fixed position. in this case they were falling back behind stonewalls and allowing the british to advance but still taking down many many of their numbers and it's here that the indispensable's help really save washington's army once again. from this point on, you enter for washington where many many americans are captured,

nearly 3000 americans including some marbleheaders that were captured early on during the -- they were basically wounded but recovering in fort washington and are capturedby the british . so much of this book consists of tension application files that are in many ways the unknown oral histories of the american revolution. if you were lucky enough to survive the american revolution , you could apply for a pension application in 1820. and you go down to the local courthouse and swear under oath what you saw and did and here are some of the great oral history accounts of what happened during the war that areuntapped and it's in their own words .

"the indispensables" is filled with these unknown stories unknown americans. it's a boots on the ground band ofbrothers , very much a cinematic telling of the war. but it also has 1000 and notes. all of it, all the words in the book come from americans are true statements from their accounts, not something that i made up . but it's within these accounts within the story is what happened and what they saw and did and it's very compelling in manycases . and as we enter november and december, this is the darkest days, some of the darkest days of america. things are politically collapsing. the military victories of the british army has obtained from brooklyn, from fort

washington, from the other victories have caused a swing within the united states where you are abandoning the cause. new jersey, people are signing oath of allegiance to the ground. congressmen, people that have died the declaration of independence are now jumping sides . things are changing. the investments within the regiments are all set to expire and they are expiring. washington's army is literally melting away within his eyes. and he's not, he decides that he must do something. it's a very desperate situation. and he decides to attack the hessian outpost in trenton. and it's here that the marble headers have perhaps their finest hour. it's a situation where everything changes.

everything is on the line. everything is about to collapse. and it's on the shoulders of themarble headers once again . the washington has an elaborate plan. he always has often elaborate plans . there were wrongs that are going to attack trenton. marbleheaders are basically taking the army across the delaware river on the main prong but the other three are also going forward . all of them fail and accept the marble headers. only they had the skill to cross the delaware river which is filled with ice, which is fast-growing. there's a nor'easter that night and luckily it's going accordingto plan . all of the other prongs to washington's offenses fail. but the marble headers are able to get the army across intact.

at least one portion of it. the other three fail. and that night, there behind schedule. there are about 12 miles above trenton and they have to march through sleet and snow into trenton. much of the army at this time is barefoot. there are literally, their tracks are filled with blood in the snow. but they push forward. they are leading part of the elements. they pushed down towards the southern portion of trenton. and this is a very very important point. without borders they attack a key bridge. known as the acid the bridge. they capture the bridge along with the guard. and then they set up a series ofcannons on high ground . meanwhile the rest of

washington's army is attacking johan roll reedit during most 18th-century engagements, both armies are for both sides battle it out and when one side is not doing well, they retreat. johan had no avenue of retreat thanks to john glover and the indispensable. they captured the bridge, they sealed the retreat and sealed the fate of johan and his entire regiment which changed the course of history . and from there, the army sales back across the delaware thanks to the marblehead men . and it's unfortunately a little bit worse than the trip over because the men had captured the wrong supply and it was a drunken cruise back over and it's some of the men felt over but they captured

most of theregiments . they captured a large fan of arms and many cannons and then it sets up a week later, roughly a week later the second battle of trenton. where washington doesn't necessarily want to fight but his hand is forced by a militia group, philadelphia associate others which go over a little bit early without borders and washington decides to reinforce them and they hold a key bridge against all odds . half the marblehead regiment, maybe a little bit more, it's hard to tell stays with washington. the other group is exhausted and they go back to marblehead but that group stays and fights at the battle of princeton and they change the course of history. the 10 crucial days that changed the course of history

in these three battles and it's the marbleheaders that are in the four that make a difference but the story doesn't end there. and what i mean by that is it's a marbleheader that once again saves the army. i'll get to that story in a minute but first i want to go through several of the characters of the book so that you get a feel for what this book is about. the first character if you will or individual that i like to highlight is john glover. he's the central character of "the indispensables" and john glover is a self-made man. fights during the french and indian war. these are cobbler. he's also a bartender with the money that he makes from bartending andcalling shoes , he's able to buy a ship.

then he's able to buy more ships and he builds a fleet of ships and becomes a wealthy man within marblehead itself through trading and marblehead's fortunes are made on fish. cod is a commodity in marblehead. and it's a third of the economy in massachusetts in 1774. they fish the grand banks. and the grand banks are some of the most treacherous waters in the world at the time. it's icy, it's thousands of miles away from boston but it's a lot there and they fish. they gather fish and they, it's a life and death situation many times against these giant waves, against forms but they're working together . and marblehead is a diverse community. it has native americans. it has three african-americans.

it has hispanic americans. these individuals are ahead of their time. in many ways, they progress before it's time. many of the men in the indispensable's are ardent abolitionists. there at the forefront of american civil rights the four there werecivil rights . they were ardently pushing the abolition of slavery. including john glover. and it's these cruise that are diverse, that are working together. but it's also a situation where the ground is interfering with their lives. and they'reinterfering with their lives constantly . there a pressing -- john glover's crews are under threat by the british navy. comes alongside ship, boards ship and says you're going to be a member of the royal navy . you're essentially a slave for life.

that individual is taken aboard a royal navy ship and made a member of the royal navy for life. there's no freeing that individual and once they escape, some did. but this is a factor that causes a break from great britain. it's one of the factors. regulation, excessive regulation. lovers enterprises were regulated by the crown3000 miles away . in 1975 something called a fisheries act would be established where the crown would literally not allow them to fish the grand banks. effectively putting them out of work the entire town. which caused a great deal of resentment. their judges were taken away from them and installed with royal officials. their governmentwas changed . all these issues phone and a political change within the

colonies, within marblehead. marblehead would become the spearhead along withboston of the revolution . it would also be an idea mainspring of the revolution. and it was the marbleheaders that would play a critical role in this. but in 717 three and 74 that ships from marblehead also brought with it a virus. it changed america. it changed the town. thetown would be divided politically . the virus was smallpox. and people within the town forbeing infected . but the patriots in the town came up with a novel plan to create an inoculation hospital to try to publicly deal with the virus itself. which was causing these political fissures and causing massive death and if you're familiar with mohawks, with pustules across the face and the back it would start people and itwould kill you in many cases . a set of test houses to

contain the virus but the inoculation hospital which was cutting edge for the time was set up by eldridge gary, nathaniel braun and many of the other main characters in this book. the loyalists weren't on board no. and as the hospital started to produce results, and also produced them and revise some of the infections which the loyalists used to their advantage to incite the mob. and dozens of men rode on boats to island where the inoculation hospitals were in place and they burned to the groundwith the people inside ,remarkably nobody was killed . the loss of the hospital caused john glover and the other patriots in the town over 2000 pounds of damage so they put out the risk a writ

to for the sheriff to get the men that had done that. they sees those individuals. and they were brought to jail for trial. the loyalists in the town used the situation of a virus to incite the law and they attacked the jail with hundreds of individuals, they broke into the doors of the jail with crowbars and freed the two men. and at that point, the main characters of the book, their houses are surrounded by the angry mob. which are hell-bent on potentially killing them all. and john glover came up with a very novel solution to deal with the problem. in his version itself it stands with the wheel as a cannon inside the foyerof the town . and i recall finding an original paper from his family, i'll fix them was his

quote and as the mob circled the house, he ordered the doors opened and the cannon was there in the foyer facing the mob and he had a torch in hand and he told them to disperse. and they did. he made a stand and it was emblematic of what, how john glover was would conduct himself through the rest of the war. and it's here that, it's john glover and eldridge gary are bringing in the main supplies of gunpowder through their contact with spain prior to the revolutionary war. as the war moves forward glover is involved in lexington and concorde. he's involved in many of the other battles. he also has the job of guarding general washington prior to the battle of bunker

hill and here john glover forges a very special relationship with the commander-in-chief. he forms a level of trust and his trust, it's general washington that looks upon john glover to solve a problem for him. gunpowder is the crucial necessary as john adams says. the colonists had 28 guns, they had no gunpowder and the british knew it and theytried to disarm us through gunpowder . it would be the contact that the marble headers had with spain that brought in that crucial gunpowder but it would also be a novel way that washington would try to capture more gunpowder by attacking the british stores at halifax. so he needed a ship or ships to do that operate john glover to create a navy.

and the navy which is really kind of preposterous is to take basically afishing boat that john glover had, the hannah which was about 74 tons . and somehow take on the greatest be the will of the world at the time , butthat's what they did . and they attacked the british ships. and the story of the navy is extraordinary. it's some of the most colorful captains in american history. captain roy, the red dragon that has the giant cloak of a red cloak that has an incredible sense of humor . cyan martindale who decides to oust six guns, elaborate amount of money but as soon as the ship immediately captured by the british . diane martindale filled up his group for the british area to trial. cyan martindale is a really amazing story.

they put his crew in irons, they put many of them royal navy vessels. he is free with some of his officers area he makes his way to the main where he's in present as well by the british navy. but somehow escaped on foot and makes his way downthe east coast all the way . spinning fails grand tales of his heroics in the process. and i'll let that, he goes on to fight again but is lost at sea. and there are so many amazing stories within the navy itself. they attacked canada without authorization. there's mutiny, one of the first in united states history. they also capture critical power ships at the right time right place. another individual that i like to talk about is doctor

nathaniel bought. the harvard trained resurrection is. our resurrection is is a body snatcher. after bond who there was a criticalshortage of cadavers at the time . people would literally, doctors would rate graveyards to snatchbodies to work on them to find out their anatomy . but doctor bond is really an extraordinary hero. he's on island, working on the inoculation. and it's here that he saves many marbleheaders. he's at the forefront of smallpox. it's his specialty, it's his expertise. doctor bond is also a member of the marblehead regiment and trains with them, drills withthem . he participates in the battle of lexington and concorde according to his epic radical which he follows very

seriously, he treats the british soldiers that are wounded as lexington and concorde. he's canceled. the patriots in the town believe that he is now a loyalist. his house is surrounded. and he writes an extraordinary letter which i have here in my hand. it's an original parchment. he begs for his life, eldridge gary saying there are thousands of people that will kill him at. please send a detailed of men to bring me to a court-martial so that i can reveal the true facts of what happen >> and actually it's what happened and he confided in his true friend joseph as well as others and they have a court-martial on the facts are revealed and doctor bond is exonerated. from fake crimes that he didn't do anything wrong, he just help people which is what heha is

supposed to do. but instead of melting away, and being not being helpful and unhappy with the situation, he decided to fight any rejoined the regiment is a surgeon. g and doctor bond that goes on to beat a company commander neophytes all of the major battles of the american revolution. it's extraordinary and of itself and at the federal trend would about half of the regiment goes back to marblehead and they have a reason for going back in, marblehead at the time is economically devastated and many of their lives are starving and they go back to protect lives and their loved ones and their families printed doctor bond stays on. one as many other men as well printed they continue to stay on in washington himself, asked doctor bond, to inoculate the

army and at the time of violence was killing nearly 20 percent of the army. it was deemed devastated. and doctor bond steps up all the inoculations facilities and he supervises and in manages the entire process and he inoculates the army. what has party claims that washington's greatest decision was to inoculate the army. they were able to find and continue to in the battles. and before his, the man initially canceled labeled, died. parishes from basically inoculated the army. in those are some of thee characters in the book. along with others, forgotten founders, and also for trinity he was unregarded that was the

intellectual mainspring in many ways of the early revolution. it's this guy that believes in republicanism for the small arm and it service to the country over self. and he takes abstract concepts and really makes them reality. and he also takes one of the largest trading fleets in the colonies which he in a family owned and inverse them into a supply. as i mentioned earlier, the necessary him was gun powder. in all of the major operations for the british were conducting at the early part of the war, would take and disarm americans and take our vital supply of gunpowder and without gunpowder, no revolution be five and he

comes up with the concept in each one of the first in the writings to talk about foreign alliances and he and other marvel headers and it is through his contact, his last that is going on forth the last 20 or 30 years, that these vital relationships in the bring in the powder to the colony. and is also future vice president, the future congressman gerrymandering is named after him in the bill of rights, and all of these things are part of this in the last thing that i will talk about quickly. is the diverse members of this unit. in many cases, we only know them by their first name. in some cases, it's a roman name or priest name, cato and these are extraordinary individuals.

there unsung and forgotten in the importance of the regimen is not necessarily, the strength is there diversity but the greatest strength is there unity. an easement working together as a team. and there are incredible members ofnt this regimen such as glove. man will and care twins and. [inaudible]. and that i looked at this file and these men died penniless they saw through the entire war, grade operations of the war. in the marblehead regimen into bringing the army to safety multiple times. these are the forgotten members of the revolution. they're all extraordinary and what they did and the diversity

and model that we would not see for over 170 years in american armed forces. but these are the men that work and, men and women, the book covers some incredible women in this book as well. they did extraordinary things, they were thehe right place at e right time. in many cases, the sacrifices they made is epic. marblehead alone had over 600 widows at the end of the .american revolution. it is that story that sacrifice and the reason why i wrote "the indispensables". i think at most americans don't really appreciate this and our founding story is our greatest

story. and it's the marvel headers that changed the course of history. thank you very much and i am happy to take questions. host: this is been a great introduction to this program so excited the people have a chance to read it which they cannot do it. there are questions coming in this question i really like from the show about the cope he seen a set of this unit. chest hottest a diverse group of the unit is something that you have studied in other contexts as well, modern soldiers acting as one. did that happen. here and how were they successful make that happen. patrick: i think a lot of this has to do with how it happened prior to the revolution and in many cases, many of these men were on fishing boats. where life-and-death decisions had toat be made within seconds and in the color of your skin was irrelevant. it was about trust.

in this trust in the teamwork was forged over years of time and many of them had forged those bonds, a friendship, bonds of family as well for the literally many of the men in this unit weree very interconnecteded through familir ties and they were best friends. i researched this unit extensively. i found a couple of examples which is unheard of for the 18 century americans where desertion but as those close connections with family and community that tied them together. host: another question came in and i like this one as well. so after the campaign, they return home. what do we know that the neck

story, you mentioned an example we can you tell us more about the afterlife. patrick: the complicated story half of the unit wealth may be for less than half of the unit, stays with washington. this is an extraordinary moment, after were ready for the battles, and then washington it uses his great abilities to beg and plead the army tuesday. and many stepped forward and a served. and many of the mark marvel headers and many die as a result of that service. including doctor bond read and john glover along with other members of this regimen return home to marblehead in the form a

new, they form a new general, they form part of a new brigade in a new regimen. for many of the men take to the sea and in many cases that great captain, but marblehead captains become part of the navy and there are some of the greatest fighting captains of the revolutionary war in the book instills with an incredible theme of ship to ship fighting and ships that are like in some cases roughing and literally had to make repairs on the flight to make their way to was ♪ ♪ and there's harley anybody there pretty they had to make masks and everything else and it's really quite extraordinary story of american ingenuity and many ofm them become privateers unlike washington's navy members

of the army literally at sea, te are private and also earning a commission slightly different in the working in the employ of the massachusetts government. many died could glover dynasty and many of them are never seen again. host: a great story here, and then the fellow here at the washington library asked about the average age ofgt the members of the marblehead regimen.he what can you tell us about are the young old and is there wide range. patrick: i have been able to take the most roles that existed and the average age was around 24 for many of the men. but it varied in their workme obviously older men and younger men and some, the book captures

a story of boy soldiers. in many cases they were drummer boys, music was a very important part of being able to communicate on the 18 century panel. these drums must relate orders and many of the younger members were musicians. and they tosi war with her father's. we had some really extraordinary stories of father and son teams. host: another question, good question about the recognition of the yearbook a great example of how century slaters we can still discover and recognize the service and what kind of recognition were people received during their lifetime. patrick: most of the men and women received nero recognition

in fact most of them were bankrupt after the war. what you see it in the pension file applications after the war, they were working and they were penniless. this is especially true for the soldier mariners of color. they're extremely impoverished read and glover himself is has ptsd and we can kinda see that in his letters to washington where he is not able most of the time and marblehead was a source of great wealth in massachusetts prior to the war which is the second-largest to the city and is really reduced to a shell after the work. individual families are greatly impoverished and in the book itself, in 1777 and late 76, the women of the town of marblehead

also it's important part of the book as well. in one of the companies led by captain brown had a base there and they literally and the women of the town prayed the food storage for the town because they are starving. this is a pretty poor, it is a civil war where americans are pitted against americans in the impoverished, it's different more than most people have read their school history. another question coming up from the audience. about how he managed to bring together so many different people in this regimen can you talk about the efforts and are there thoughtful deliver thanks for someone i glover needs to do in order to make this happen or does it come out of the

community from which he came. patrick: i think it comes out of the community. there is no like over effort to coerce people to serve and i think that's an important element of this book. they willingly served. and in most cases is the poorest members of the community as well is the elite members. they're all serving together, side-by-side. you have literally like glover andor jeremiah lee for instance, these are exceptionally, jeremiah lee in particular was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, he is initially there the col. he serving with the other members of the community which are not well off at all. not doing it under coercion, they're doing it because they feel it is their duty.

what i find extraordinary is the amount of sacrifice as the war progresses and the community itself is bankrupt. there's a tremendous amount of pressure to return home. they give up the war most of these men are many of these men continue m their service against all on this. which i find extraordinary. host: obviously were here at mount vernon so was a great opportunity to ask george washington question. would like to in washington, dit they share an intimacy and did they have a frank relationship with one another andip what you know about that predict and do you want to acknowledge someone that not many insiders know well but tell us about that pretty. patrick: that relationship is important for these marblehead are the indispensable, and that

relationship is forged in early 1775 and this is in cambridge as a giant mansion washington takes over as his headquarters and it is the marblehead that are the first two guard of the headquarters. and he requested them as time goes on. he formed a very intimate relationship of trust with john glover and the unit at the time. caleb who later becomes in charge of the commander-in-chief guard. in this relationship is incredibly important. washington control policeman at the most crucial points of the

war. he places his entire trust on the shoulders of the marblehead men, and it's later at trenton where john glover or washington as lover, can you bring us across the river. jason to worry about that, my boys have it and they had it in the confidence in his men in washington had confidence in te marblehead as i said earlier, if washington was indispensable man, it's the marblehead who were the indispensable man. host: market margaret has a great question. the shipping of this wonderful regimen, was a fishing our life experience of the experiences they had come in

long before the war broke out in hello they taught in more to it. to be that regimen that became. patrick: men had undergone training as a demolition to the war where they would trying in the ground in and around marblehead. i was not necessary take it because they with the right to the tavern afterwards and wrong after the training. bill is relieved forged these men arguably the greatest fighting unit to them take arms the united states is their experience prior to the war fishing in the banks when they had a battle not only the royal navy but also mother nature some

of the legacies at the time. the granite banks were unforgiving. hundreds of men would die every year at sea so this bred hard men that were very tough americans also are drinkers as well. but that's another story. if they were very tough individuals. host: another question that i communion from frank plasma marblehead and we talked about the water crossings is in the cover of your book. wendy involved in other campaigns including inhe the south. patrick: not directly, after te tran10 campaign, glover would operate in the north primarily

there was a handful of individuals who may have served in the south and other units because they help troubled that way. but for the most part they did not operate in the south. the story of the marblehead man is unique like unit operations they conducted a different since, rage against british and that even launched a series of fighter ships against the british and the couple of weeks before the battle, several men had died ordr perish as they dre the ship their flaming ships directly into it was effectively british battleships and one of the marblehead perish in several perished in process. truly story of heroism.

host: another question this might meet my last opportunity because were running out of time together. what about leadership asked about leadership quality washington. not just washington but also other key figures including clever. his servant leadership trait the uc is key to the success of this regimen. patrick: absolutely, this book isth field of leadership exampl, individuals willing to sacrifice their lives in the fortune forr the country. mind-boggling in many ways to try to describe it where the theme of the word, many of these individuals penniless man.

as well is emotionally read the scars of the warmth would continue with them but one of the leaderships trades they had they were willing to where they were never asked somebody else to do something they wouldn't be willing to do and in many cases, they live in the very front. they were willing to sacrifice their lives. and that leadership is really essential and it's something that is a lesson that we can understand and learn from today. host: this is been a remarkable opportunity. my cameras gone but let me talk to from here. eliminate say are there any a closing word you would like to say about your research project here but also comes next. patrick: anyone say thank you to

everybody as stated this evening and sacrifice their time. for my presentation. and i really want to thank the ladies mount vernon for sponsoring me and allowing me to really conduct research and i think one the finest facilities in america is one of the greatest, i've never found a better place to write books. here, is a special place and i'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to be here and conduct the research and to write this book read. host: the book everyone, is shipping the country and formed the navy and rub washington river.the and he is here to talk about this book and taken about by it now. thank you so much for being here with us, good night patrick

o'donnell and to everyone. >> tonight about tv on "c-span2", look at some of this year's best-selling books, starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern, carol on her book, chronic secret service from the kennedy assassination to the insurrection at the capitol on january 6. in an interview with alex marlowe, author breaking the news, which argues the mainstream media reports fake news and later michael lewis on his book, the premonition, it tells the story of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and the scientists who worked to convince the u.s. government to take the virus seriously. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪

♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ >> the u.s. senate is not in session today, to allow senators to attend a funeral of former senator mike in wyoming key, the tenant is back in session at 11:00 a.m. eastern on saturday. sinners will continue work on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and it funds roads, bridges, public transit, railways, water projects, airports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations predict when this and he gets back in session, and 11:00 a.m. eastern etc. you can see life coverage on "c-span2". next on book tv,