The Indispensables shines a spotlight on John Glover's Marblehead Regiment that included white， Black， and Native American soldier-mariners， fathers and sons， who fought during so many of the desperate days and major battles of the American Revolution--from Lexington and Concord， Bunker Hill， Brooklyn and New York to Trenton， Princeton， and Saratoga。 The regiment's diversity was way ahead of its time and set a standard that the US Army would not reach again for more than 170 years。 The regiment also established the origins of the US Navy prior to and during the Revolution。 And it provided the key members of Washington's Guard， which protected the commander of the Continental Army throughout the war and provided the template for today's Secret Service。 Immortalized by Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware， in the Metropolitan Museum of Art， the Marblehead Regiment was responsible for the safe passage of Washington's army across the Delaware River on December 25-26， 1776， making possible the momentum- and morale-shifting victory at the Battle of Trenton。 The regiment was also instrumental in ferrying Washington's entire army across the East River from Brooklyn to New York City on the night of August 29-30， 1776， thereby saving it from certain capture early in the war。 Patrick O'Donnell is steeped in the history of America's wars。 His most recent book， The Unknowns （2018）， received glowing coverage in the Wall Street Journal， USA Today， Washington Times， and many other outlets， as well as praise from luminaries including Carlo D'Este， Alex Kershaw， and John C。 McManus。 It has sold almost 30，000 copies in all formats。 O'Donnell's previous book on the American Revolution， Washington's Immortals， was the winner of the Daughters of the American Revolution National Excellence in American History Book Award， listed as one of the "100 Best American Revolution Books of All Time" by the Journal of the American Revolution， and a finalist for the 2017 Library of Virginia People's Choice Award for Nonfiction。 It has sold over 50，000 copies in all formats。 O'Donnell has appeared on countless television and radio shows， including NPR， CNN， MSNBC， Fox News， C-SPAN， the History Channel， and other networks。 He is a superb speaker and very well connected with the media。 An expert on espionage， special operations， and counter-insurgency， O'Donnell has been involved as a writer and historical consultant for numerous documentaries produced by the BBC， the History Channel， and Dreamworks's Band of Brothers。 O'Donnell is the recipient of the Military Order of St。 Louis and is currently a fellow at the Fred W。 Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon。 In 2012， the OSS society awarded him with the John Waller Award， which is given for historical scholarship。 He was the recipient of the 2002 William E。 Colby Award for his first book， Beyond Valor。