 Greetings from the National Archives flagship building in Washington, D.C., which sits on the ancestral lands of the Nacotchtank peoples. I'm David Terrio, Archivist of the United States, and it's my pleasure to welcome you to today's virtual author lecture with Patrick K. O'Donnell about his new book, The Indispensables, which tells the story of the Marblehead Regiment during the American Revolution. Before I begin, I'd like to tell you about two upcoming programs you can view on our YouTube channel. On Tuesday, June 29th at noon, we'll bring you John Furling, author of Winning Independence, which describes the events of the underexplored but decisive years of the second half of the Revolutionary War. And on Tuesday, July 6th at noon, Zachary M. Shragg will tell us about his new book, The Fires of Philadelphia, a study of anti-immigrant riots in 1844 Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Massachusetts is my hometown of Beverly's rival for the title of birthplace of the U.S. Navy. Even so, I won't dispute the headers' well-earned place in American history. As Patrick O'Donnell recounts in The Indispensables, the men of Marblehead Regiment, white, black, Hispanic, and Native American, made up of men from Boston, Beverly, and Marblehead, played a crucial role in the nation's fight for independence. We're familiar with the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, but may not have thought to ask who was doing the rowing. It was the Marblehead Regiment. The dangerous crossing of the Iceville Delaware River on Christmas 1776 led to a successful surprise attack on Trenton. Earlier that same year, the Continental Army was backed up against the East River after losing the Battle of Brooklyn. Washington was able to save his army by evacuating them across the East River to Manhattan thanks to those same soldier mariners. In his book review for The Wall Street Journal, Mark G. Spencer declared that those seeking a detailed, reliable account of the war for American independence's early years, one that embraces its nautical dimensions, will find it here. Patrick O'Donnell is a best-selling critically acclaimed military historian and an expert on elite units. The author of 12 books including The Unknowns and Washington's Immortals, he is the recipient of numerous national awards. O'Donnell served as a combat historian in a marine rifle platoon during the Battle of Fallujah and is a professional speaker on America's conflicts, espionage, special operations, and counterinsurgency. He has provided historical consulting for DreamWorks award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers and for documentaries produced by the BBC, The History Channel, and Discovery. He is a scholar and fellow at Mount Vernon's Fred W. Smith Library for the study of George Washington. Now let's hear from Patrick O'Donnell. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. It's an honor to be here and thank you, David, for that beautiful introduction. The National Archives is one of my favorite places and I've written 12 books and many of the journeys for those books began at the National Archives in the tremendous research prospects that the archives offer, including with The Indispensables. The 12 books I've written have all been a journey and each one of those books is a special journey and the research is what I really enjoy the most on that journey. Just getting, spending a part of my life completely enveloping myself in the story that I'm writing about and that story is deeply entrenched with research, I travel to the places that I write about, I visit the graves of the individuals that I write about. I also go to their homes and I really try to come out with the true story about what I'm writing about. Before I write any book though, I ask a very basic question, who cares? And with The Indispensables, who cares is answered by the fact that they saved their country multiple times during the American Revolution. They really were indispensable and this is, you know, with the way that they shaped our early government, the gunpowder that they brought in and crucial supplies, the money that they spent are also militarily, when all was lost on several occasions, it was the marble headers and men from Beverly that saved the entire revolution. And let me sort of just sort of take you back in time to one of those incidents where it was a true inflection point in the American Revolution. I'm going to take you back in time to August 29, 30th, the night of August 29, 30th, 1776. And it's here that the war is about to be lost in its entirety. It's a crucial inflection point. Washington had just battled it with most of his army at the Battle of Brooklyn and they were decisively defeated. And had it not been for a regiment or a portion of a regiment of Marylanders that bought us an hour more precious in our history than any other is one historian, contemporary historian said the army probably would have been destroyed on the field. But that hour allowed them to escape to fortifications in Brooklyn Heights. And it was there that both armies dug in and it was there that Washington had a crucial decision to make. Does he stand and fight or does he retreat? The problem with the retreating was he had to go across the East River and he had to do an evacuation under battle with an enemy army right at his throat. One of the most difficult maneuvers in all military maneuvers is to retreat under fire across the river amphibiously. And that's exactly what he was calling upon. And here, this story is really truly remarkable. It's an American Dunkirk. It's where the entire war could have easily been lost. And it rests upon the shoulders of the Marblehead men. They have to do the impossible with only a few hours of notice. They're told initially that they are going to attack the British that night. But instead they move towards the East River and they move towards an assortment of boats that they have to immediately crew. And those boats are what is going to transport 9,500 men of Washington's army across the river. They also have to take the equipment and the horses. It's mission impossible. As soon as they board the boats, the water doesn't cooperate. The currents are difficult. They strain with all their might to move the boats across. It's not working. And it's here that the individual in charge of the operation tries to find Washington to call it off. Miraculously, in many respects, they can't find Washington. The operation moves forward and suddenly the wind starts to change. And the wind changes in the favor of the Marbleheaders who have oars that are lined with cloth to avoid the noise of moving across the river. And they move initially the artillery across first. And they're doing it right under the eyes of the British army as well as the most powerful navy in the world at the time, the Royal Navy, which is only about a mile up the East River. Had the winds changed for the Royal Navy that night, they could have gone up behind the defenses at Brooklyn and blown the boats to Smithereens, potentially. But the current and the wind didn't work that night for the Royal Navy. And it started to change, though, for John Glover's men and the Marbleheaders. And what's really important here is that these are arguably the most trained and skilled mariners in the Continental Army and in the colonies at the time. Or I should say the early United States. And they get this skill from fishing and trade around the world. They fish the most dangerous waters in the world, the Grand Banks, which is over 1,000 miles north of Boston off of Nova Scotia. And it's here. This is the most treacherous waters in the world, massive waves, crash boats, men are lost at sea, scores of men from Marblehead every year. It's extremely hazardous occupation. But it breeds hard men. It also breeds teamwork. And the men in the boats on August 29, 30, 1776 that are saving the Army have spent years mastering these seas. So they're able to tackle the East River and all those challenges. What makes them unique also is that many of the men, I should say, portions of the men within those boats, it's a diverse regiment. And it's diverse racially. There are Native Americans. There are African Americans that are free men. And they're including a few Spaniards or Hispanics. But there's also it's diverse socioeconomically. It's diverse in the sense that there are rich men fighting alongside the poorest of the poor from Marblehead. And they're all there effectively as volunteers. And they want to be for a cause that they believe in. And I'll get into that later. But the British and the government in London and the King had destroyed their livelihoods in various ways. So they were very determined men. And they began bringing the Army across against all odds. In the midst of this, it's contingencies. It's different things that could occur that don't occur that are really quite remarkable. For instance, one of the great fears, one of the reasons why Washington ordered the men to attack the British initially, or it was a ruse. He was afraid of a traitor going into the British lines and betraying the entire plan that they were evacuating. Because if they knew that, they could pounce on the army and destroy it. And the loyalists that were in the area tried to notify the British. And through a variety of things, it didn't occur really quite miraculously. Had that information been obtained by the British in a timely manner, they may have attacked as the operation was going off, it doesn't occur. And they began to bring the army back and forth. And they have to make multiple trips across a mile-long river that is raging. It's very difficult. It takes all of the skill of the marble headers to pull off this amazing feat of retreat. And in the midst of all of this, time is running out. It's dawn that's coming. And one of the last to leave on the shores of Brooklyn is George Washington himself in a sign of true leadership. He isn't the first person that leaves. He's there at the end. And there's chaos. Dawn is coming. And the Commander-in-Chief, it's a great story of leadership. Stays behind. He's actually helping to organize the evacuation through his own leadership. And he raises a giant boulder over his head and says, I will sink the boat to hell if there isn't order. And the Commander-in-Chief's words ring true. And he restores order as the evacuation continues. And then something quite extraordinary happens. As the Continentals and many of their accounts say, a providential fog sets in and screams the movement of the marble headers as they continue to evacuate the army in the American Dunkirk. And they save our country and a massive portion of the Continental Army that night. And they bring it to safety in Manhattan. And this is just one incident or episode where this regiment, this body of men, saved the United States. And it's not a regimental history. It's a narrative history that focuses on the main characters within marble head and the regiment throughout the course of the first beginning in 1769 and going through 1777. And this is their epic story. These men then, two weeks later, are very active again when the British landed Kipps Bay and they attempt to seize Manhattan. And it's here that the marble headers play a vital role. The army literally melts away or portions of it, melt away when the British land. And there's a strange scene that takes place. Washington himself is astounded. He is dumbfounded that his men are running. And he's literally catatonic on the battlefield. And it takes one of his aides to take the bridle of his horse and move him off of the battlefield as literally 500 yards away, the British are charging right at him and would kill him within minutes had that not occurred. But he's brought back. And it's the marble headers that once again play a role. They stand firm. This is a regiment that morphs into, as the war goes on, truly an elite regiment that has many, many special capabilities that are in some ways a early precursor to special operations. About a month prior to this, they attacked with fire ships. They attacked the Royal Navy in a daring raid where they took continental ships that sailed directly into one of the most heavily armed British vessels of the time in an attempt to basically burn it to the water line. And these men risked their lives. Several individuals died in the process. And they nearly took out a major ship of the line. As that night, they sailed their ship, which was loaded with incendiaries into the side of the British ship. They caught the side of a tender. They had grappling hooks. And then quite remarkably, they cut holes in the back of the ship, which they slid out after they rammed their vessel into the British ship. It didn't completely engulf the British ship, but it did do some damage. The primary objective was to prevent the British from going up the Hudson River, which they did do on a temporary basis after the operation. But that's a demonstration of the capabilities of this unit, which they are on the forefront of the American way of war, if you will, which is different than the way European armies would fight. And as the American Revolution unfolded, it was the Americans and the British that were in a race to develop new tactics and technology as they confronted one another. And it's the American way of war that ultimately wins. But it's a long, long war. But these men are at the very forefront of it. And moving through the battles of New York, the marble headers are present in many of them. The British continue to attack up Manhattan. And it's the marble headers that again play a key role. The island, Manhattan itself is practically in 1776, all surrounded by water. So it's indefensible for all practical purposes. But Washington is forced by Congress to try to defend the impossible. And they make a variety of stands. And the British use their vast sea power to their advantage. And they try to flank the Americans by landing amphibiously in Long Island Sound at a place called Throne's Neck. And it's here that initially Edward Hans riflemen who were crack shots, a small group of men, scores of men, literally hold off a portion of the British army as it lands at Throne's Neck. The hands riflemen are picking off British officers as they're landing, they're causing chaos. And it's really a truly extraordinary story. Glover's Regiment, and he's now in charge of a brigade of several regiments, comes up to reinforce. And the British are forced to evacuate the landing at Throne's Neck. The Americans, through their stalwart defense, force the re-embark upon their ships. And they sail up Long Island Sound a little bit further north. And they land several days later at Pell's Point. And the battle of Pell's Point is truly a forgotten battle of the American Revolution. It's an incredibly important engagement where John Glover, once again, plays a critical role. They land near the water line. There's a border, a massive boulder, which it's not thought that the marble headers engaged there, but the local militia likely engaged the British first. And they fell back to a series of stone walls, which is now part of the Pell's Point golf course. And some of these walls still exist. And it's here that the marble headers and Glover's Brigade, as well as the militia, make an epic stand. They are fighting behind the stone walls, using it as cover, which is unique to a certain degree. But it's part of the American way of war, using cover whenever possible. But it's also, they inherently come up with a strategy of a collapsible defense. The best crown troops are attacking these stone walls. And the marble headers as well as the other regiments that are there are inflicting massive damage on the British light infantry, some of their most elite troops, as well as other Hessians that are there. The, these are German allies that are highly trained and skilled troops that are in under British command. And they're being repelled time and time again as they charge these stone walls. And I capture the story of one of those British officers that I followed through the entire war. He was first at the Battle of Lexington and Concord. He was on Battle Road fighting for his life. He was at Bunker Hill. He later leads the flanking maneuver at the Battle of Brooklyn house famous flanking maneuver, which turns the American army, but he's tragically killed here. But the book is, this is something about the book that makes it I think unique. I try to follow characters from both sides, if you will, to objectively lay out what happened and why. And it follows a smaller story that tells a larger story of the American Revolution, their war and why we fought, but also it captures crucial inflection points where these men were literally the difference between victory and defeat. And it's the marble headers and the marble head regiment that delay the British long enough that Washington, the main force of Washington's army can then escape to White Plains where they set up on a series of hills in high ground. And it's here that they hope to gore the British. And once again, marble headers play a role in the defense of White Plains. And it's here that another character emerges. One of the great Hessian leaders, the Hessian lion, as he's called, Johann Raul. And Johann Raul is one of the most courageous Hessian or German commanders. And his regiment is exceptional. Johann Raul leads one of the breakthroughs at White Plains at Chatterham Hill and changes the course of the battle. And it's the marble headers that face the onslaught of the British army. And they're one of the last units to engage the British as Washington eventually retreats from the White Plains area, if you will, which it took several days. And it would be the marble headers that would engage Johann Raul in several months as time would go on. Johann Raul, once again, would prove to be an incredible leader. He leads the attack, or I should say the breakthrough, at a place called Fort Washington. And Fort Washington during 1776 was the last kind of bastion in Manhattan. And it was a massive sprawling defensive complex that spanned several miles. But the heart of the defenses were at what's now the base of the George Washington Bridge. And the Patriots had set up a defense there, nearly 3,000 Americans manned those defenses. And Washington initially wanted to retreat. But General Green, one of Washington's ablest commanders, urged him to stay and fight, thought it was defendable. And it's here that Johann Raul, once again, proves to be critical. And he leads the breakthrough there. And the book captures some very intimate moments. The, I think the great oral histories of the American Revolution reside, the originals reside at the National Archives in the form of pension applications, pension files. And a pension file for Revolutionary War soldiers, if you were lucky enough to survive this onslaught. And then survive all the way up until around the time of 1820 and then later on, you could go under oath as a veteran at the local courthouse and swear what you saw and did and prove that you were a continental soldier or you were a member of the militia or that you were part of the American Revolutionary War. And these files contain the oral histories of these veterans. And that's what I exclusively, I used extensively in my book, Washington's Immortals, which is on the Marylanders that made an epic stand at the Battle of Brooklyn, but as well as the Indispensables. And it's the National Archives that contain many of the muster rolls of the regiments. And it's here that I mined the muster rolls. And there's just names on these rolls. But I did a genealogy on each one of the individuals, which were hundreds and literally reconstructed the regiments from the muster rolls and the pension application files, as well as their letters and diaries to come up with a pointillistic narrative in many cases in their own words. And it's at Fort Washington that you have a really extraordinary story. One of the luckiest men of the American Revolution, who's a Marylander, actually was able to escape Fort Washington as it was being surrounded and being overrun. And he got off on a rowboat and crossed the Hudson River and landed near Fort Lee. And it was the scene here that he describes in his pension application. Lawrence Everhart describes Washington looking through a spyglass as he's seeing the men of Fort Washington run through a gauntlet of Hessian soldiers and British soldiers. And they're beaten, they're kicked. In some cases, they're even stabbed by bayonet and murdered. And they're robbed as they go through this gauntlet. And Everhart describes Washington who we all think of as very stoic, is crying and weeping as he sees his men being subjected to this violence and many of them killed. And it's one of the low points in Washington's career, one of the lowest points actually. And the cause of the Revolutionary War is fading. And it's one retreat after another. And the army retreats across New Jersey to their perceived safety of the Delaware River and Patriot farms in Pennsylvania. And it's here that the American crisis is unfolding. It's the darkest days in our country's history, arguably. Everything is falling apart, everything is collapsing. It's one defeat after another. And the enlistments for the army are expiring. And Washington knows that a bold move is needed in order to change the course of history. And he sets upon coming up with a plan to change the course of the Revolution by attacking the Hessian garrison that Johann Raul commands at Trenton. And in order to do that, they have to cross the Delaware River in boats. And then also do it in a manner that achieves surprise, that to do it quickly, because there are other garrisons that are nearby that could reinforce Johann Raul or he could retreat to the other garrisons. So there's a lot of things in play here. And Washington comes up with a fairly complex plan to attack from multiple points using his army. And this was typical of Washington. Many of his plans were complex, which was a double-edged sword. The complexity created problems and execution but on the other side of the coin, it created a redundancy. And it's here that the redundancy would pay off to small degree, but it would be the marble headers that the war would rest on their shoulders once again. And when George Washington asked John Glover, what, if he could take the army across the Delaware, and he said, general, don't worry about that. My lads can handle it. And he was confident because of the skills that they had honed in the teamwork that they had developed in the Grand Banks that they could get across the river. But Christmas night was exceptional. It was a nor'easter, the river was raging, it was swollen, there was currents. The other operations that tried to cross the river that night, other portions of Washington's army all failed. It's very important to know that. Every single aspect of the army that tried to cross that were not, votes weren't crewed by, the marble headers all failed. And fittingly, the password for the operation was victory or death, and everything was at stake. And it was the marble headers against all odds again, just like the East River that brings the army across. And it's every other aspect of the operation fails, but the marble headers, they bring the army across and they're behind schedule. The plan is to attack right around dawn, but they're hours behind schedule. The wind is raging, there's a nor'easter that's occurred, snow is coming down and the army is in horrendous shape. Many of them don't have shoes and they're literally leaving trails of blood as they move forward without winter clothing or anything else. And then a series of sort of extraordinary things occur. They're behind schedule. They suddenly find themselves on top of about 200 Americans that are under the command of Adam Stevens that had conducted a raid many hours earlier during the day, totally unauthorized and they're over there for some reason. And Washington is dumbfounded. He said, you basically destroyed my entire plan by being here because you just tipped off the Hessians. But that has an interesting role in the course of history. Many believe that that it's fortuitous in the sense that British intelligence had notified Johann Raul that an attack was coming. They just didn't know exactly when and where. And Johann Raul was on high alert. He was a professional soldier that had spent years as a commander and as a soldier. Literally his childhood was as a soldier and his entire adult life. And he was ready. His men were ready. They were in their uniforms. They were sleeping with their weapons and they were ready for battle. It's many believe that the raid that occurred by Stevens, Johann Raul may have believed that was the entire raid. After they repelled Stevens' band of men, Raul and his men went back into their entrenchment. And I'm not entrenchments, but they're makeshift defenses. And the Continental Army then attacks Raul and it's here that the marble headers play a critical role. Absolutely critical. They capture the most important real estate in North America, arguably. They capture the Assen Peak Creek Bridge. And it's here that the bridge is the last route of escape. That they capture for Johann Raul and it's they seal the fate of Johann Raul and his regiment. And they also put a series of cannon on high ground near the bridge and they bombard the Heshen Regiment. And they force many men to, they force the vast majority of the regiment to surrender. And it is a decisive American victory. But it's only one battle of three in 10 crucial days that changed the course of history and it changed the course of America. They're involved in a battle at Assen Peak Creek. And it's here that really something quite extraordinary again happens. A very large portion of the marble head regiment, their enlistments expire. And Washington is in critical, the army's in critical shape. If they want to continue to fight, they have to have an army in the field. They have to have men reenlist or stay with the army. Portion of the regiment goes home. John Glover's wife is on her deathbed and she dies. The town of marble head is starving. There's a food riot that I bring out in the town where the women of the town literally take up arms to feed themselves. The book captures a story of some very extraordinary women as well. And portion of the regiment leaves. A portion stays. They fight at Assen Peak Creek Bridge where they make an epic stand that holds the British army. They hold the bridge. It's another inflection point where had the army collapsed, all could have been lost. And then after the battle of Assen Peak Creek where they make this epic stand that Washington himself is in the fray. The marble headers and the army under Washington's command makes an incredible decision to attack north and attack at Princeton. And Washington again plays a crucial role by changing the course of history and entering the battle personally. Where it's an incredible story of he's in the midst of the very, the heaviest of fire in the battle and he's not hit once. Many say, you know, quite extraordinary because he's into the very fray of battle and could easily have died and somehow it seems immune to below. It's rallies the army after some initial setbacks and they then move forward and they're able to win the day at Princeton. Their number one goal was to go to Brunswick and to seize the vast military stores that were there along with a huge war chest that included an enormous amount of money that would have paid the British army as well as military supplies. And it was hoped, Washington hoped that he could seize that war chest but the army was exhausted and they retreat and they retreat to further into New Jersey where they set up a fortified camp and they're relatively protected. And it's here they go into winter quarters but it's here they face an enemy that's even more deadly than British bullets and cannonballs. And that is an invisible virus or an invisible enemy, a virus that is killing the army. Some say upwards of 20% of the army is being infected by smallpox and it's slaying more men than the British. And it's here that really, I think, this is really one of the great untold stories of the American Revolution and it directly relates to marble head. Let me take you back in time a little bit. The army's suffering from smallpox but let me take you back in time to 1773, 1774 to marble head. And it's here that in marble head, smallpox strikes, the fishermen of marble head bring back their cargos along with this deadly invisible virus that's a killer. The town is suffering tremendously. And much like today, they try to come up with very novel ways to combat this invisible virus, this deadly killer. This is before Edward Jenner came up with a means of combating it. They first tried quarantine and they set up pest houses in the town that flew black flags and anybody that was infected with the virus was pushed into the pest house. They killed any dogs or anything that could, that could spread the virus and they quarantine people, but this wasn't working. And it was here that a specialist step forward. The great, I think greatest character in my book, the man that's an unsung hero of the American Revolution, Dr. Nathaniel Bond is the principal. He was a specialist in smallpox and it's Bond and another guy by the name of Dr. Hall that come up with a very novel solution to create a inoculation hospital. And the Patriots of the town decide at their own cost to fund the hospital. And it's an enormous sum, 2000 pounds sterling to build the hospital on a place called Cat Island. It's a remote island. And the hospital was state of the art for the time. They had a clean room and they had a facility that was almost like an airlock. They brought people over by boat to Cat Island. They took their clothes off and they gave them new clothes and then they went about the procedure of inoculation which at the time was risky. It was kind of like Russian roulette. The patient would be a small knife would be inserted above their shoulder with a tiny portion of the virus. And the plan was to have the body create antibodies from the virus. And in most cases it worked. In some cases it didn't and people got smallpox. And it was a horrendous disease. I mean, you had pustules on your face and your back and it was dangerous. But the town was pushing forward with it but it didn't sit well with everybody. And the virus was used politically by the loyalist in the town as a cudgel. And for a variety of reasons people were genuinely concerned about getting smallpox from the hospital. And the loyalist organized a group of men that in the dead of night rode over to Cat Island and burned it to the ground with everyone inside. And it is miraculous but nobody died. And the perpetrators of this violence were identified and John Glover along with Elbridge Gary who's another main character in this book, Jeremiah Lee and Nathaniel Bond went to the local sheriff and had these men arrested and they were put in jail. But the loyalists in the town inflamed the fury of the mob and they stormed the jail with axes and crowbars. And then freed them. And what happened next is really quite chilling. The mob then turned on the Patriots and they had their homes surrounded and their lives were threatened. And events would take place such as the Boston Tea Party that would change the course of history again where the Patriots would gain the upper hand because the crown went after the Patriots livelihood in every possible way by closing the port of Boston that the intolerable acts would change the course of history along with disarmament and everything else where the American revolution would change from a political revolution to a all out war. And it would be at the battle of Lexington and Concord that Dr. Bond would then make his presence again. But in an interesting way he was following his Hippocratic oath by treating Patriots, loyalists and even British soldiers. And it was by treating the British soldiers that he would be branded a loyalist himself and he would be canceled effectively. His home was surrounded by scores of individuals. And I have the original letter that he wrote to Elbridge Gary, it's truly an extraordinary document of four pages where he says, if you don't come by tomorrow morning, I'll be a dead man. I won't be able to ever speak. You will find me dead because hundreds want to kill me. And he demands a court martial, which he gets. And Joseph Warren, his close friend along with Dr. Benjamin Church, another quite interesting character in my book who's also America's arguably first trader. Preside and Dr. Nathaniel Bond is exonerated, but instead of leaving the service of the army or of his country, he stays on. And he becomes a company commander within the Marblehead Regiment and their surgeon. And he treats men that are wounded and as well as commands them. But going now forward to the battle of Princeton and the aftermath, the army is melting away again. Dr. Bond stays on along with other, a core group of Marbleheaders. And Dr. Bond changes the course of American history. And arguably one of the first public health strategic decisions, Washington decides to inoculate the army. This is a bold decision. And I believe his greatest strategic decision. The army's dying from the virus. And if they are not able to fight in the field, they don't have an army. It falls upon Dr. Bond to set up all the inoculation hospitals to treat, to inoculate the army. And that's exactly what Dr. Bond does. He sets up the inoculation hospitals, he conducts many of the inoculations. And it's here that Dr. Bond performs his greatest service for the United States. And it's here through his service that Dr. Bond dies. He gives his life for the cause. And it's Dr. Bond that fades through history. And Dr. Bond is, brought back to life in the pages of The Indispensibles. But the reason why I wrote this is because of men like Dr. Bond and the other members of The Indispensibles. And it's an honor to be here today. And I'm very happy to take any questions. There's one question that I did receive. And that is the role of my research at the National Archives. I've written 12 books. I'm in the process of finishing up a 13. And throughout my career, it's the National Archives that really was crucial in many ways. I'm the foremost expert arguably in the Office of Strategic Services. I've spent years at the National Archives at NARA II, going through the OSS files, which are vast. It's the archives that provided much of the research for this book, for my book, Washington's Immortals, and then my book, The Unknowns. So I really believe the National Archives is truly one of our greatest national treasures. And I salute you at the archives, all of the staff for the extraordinary efforts that you employ to share and preserve our American history. Thank you.