3. John Glover and the Marblehead Regiment
George Washington had no navy to speak of, making his orders from Congress to defend New York from the British virtually impossible to carry out with any prospect of success. Had it not been for the talents and skills of the Marblehead regiment, comprised of seamen and fishermen from Gloucester and Marblehead, Washington’s entire army would have been trapped on Long Island and the American Revolution brought to an end in September, 1776. Instead, the regiment under its commander, John Glover, after distinguishing itself in the fighting during the Battle of Long Island (an American defeat) evacuated Washington’s entire army, with its horses, artillery, and equipment, across the East River to Manhattan under the noses of the British in the course of a single night. It was not the last time Washington would use Glover’s regiment to befuddle the enemy.
On Christmas night later that same year Glover’s regiment successfully transported Washington’s attack columns and artillery across the ice clogged Delaware River, allowing Washington to launch the attack on Trenton which saved the Revolution the following morning. The following year Glover served along the Hudson River, building and maintaining the defenses which made British probes upriver difficult and often deadly. After service in the Saratoga campaign Glover was instrumental in developing the defenses at West Point and other strongholds along the Hudson. But it was his services in rescuing Washington from calamity at New York and carrying the Continental Army to its eventual victory at Trenton which were his greatest contributions to the Revolution. The famed painting Washington Crossing the Delaware depicts the general’s determination, but it was the skill of Glover and his men which made the victory possible.