FORGOTTEN HERO:  John Glover

                Without John Glover, the Revolution would not have succeeded.  He was that important.  Glover was a successful shipowner and merchant before the war.  He was given command of a regiment of seamen and fishermen from Gloucester and Marblehead in Massachusetts.  They became known as the Glover’s Marbleheaders.  Gen. Washington realized that this regiment had a special skill set and used it for special missions.  The first of these came after his army was badly defeated in the Battle of Long Island.  His forces retreated to fortifications on Brooklyn Heights, but the superior British army was primed to assault the position and end the revolution.  Washington needed to get his army out of this precarious position, but retreat was not simple because the East River stood in the way.  In one night, his “amphibious regiment” evacuated the army under the noses of the British.  If not for the Marbleheaders, the revolution would have ended that week.  They fought bravely in the next series of battles which resulted in the British capturing New York City and ended up in Pennsylvania with the rest of the demoralized army.  Washington badly needed a victory to restore the spirits of his men.  He decided to  cross the Delaware River and surprise the Hessian garrison at Trenton.  He could only cross the river with the help of his Marbleheaders.  Glover’s men transported 2,400 men, 18 cannons, and horses across on a wintry night with no losses.  They then marched the nine miles through the snow with their comrades, fought in the battle, and then transported the army back to their camp.  Along with over 2,000 Hessian prisoners.  A week later, they repeated the performance for the Battle of Princeton.  Had not Washington won these two victories, the revolution probably would have failed.  This was the last act of the Marblehead regiment as the men went home with their enlistments up.  Washington persuaded Glover to remain and promoted him to Brigadier General.  He was forced to retire in 1782 due to ill health.

https://historycollection.co/18-all-but-forgotten-american-war-heroes/