The Indispensables

This book by Patrick K. O’Donnell is subtitled “The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware.” The book details the accomplishments of the regiment from Marblehead, Massachusetts, without dwelling on their racial designation or ancestry. But, the author is clear that this regiment, like the men of the merchant and whaling fleets from which they were recruited, were about one third men of African descent, several of Native American ancestry, a few with Hispanic surnames, and many of them probably a mix of two or more of the above.