And so, Patrick, I thought it would be fun to start out with getting a little more detail about your background and maybe talking about how you were or were not using tech when you got started in law enforcement.

Well, when I started in law enforcement, it was 1995.

I went to the academy January 16, 1995.

That's when I raised my right hand and swore an oath and Started six months of, you know, running and running and running and doing pushups and setups and saluting everything except the fire extinguisher.

Maybe, I don't know, maybe I saluted that too.

Who knows? But it was a paramilitary organization, very rigid, like a bootcamp kind of organization.

environment in there.

I think one of the frustrations of crime writers, especially mystery writers, is it becomes increasingly hard to come up with a crime that seems plausible to maybe get away with because you're contending with cameras everywhere, cell phones, all the problems that are solved by the fact that people are carrying cell phones, and now you have to try to figure out a way that they can't just call 911.

What happened?

This is a situation, it's over a year after the battles of Lexington and Concord and the siege of Boston where the British evacuate.

They then come back, the Empire strikes back with the largest force ever assembled to conquer North America and to crush the rebellion.

They bring about most of the Royal Navy, which is the most powerful navy of the world at the time, as well as most of their, two-thirds of their army, They never have enough, so they bring in Hessian regulars from Germany.

that are brought in as allies, and they're there to crush the nascent United States and Washington.

And Washington has the unenviable job of somehow defending New York City, which is mission impossible because it's surrounded by water, and the Royal Navy can land anywhere that they want.

So he divides his army up into two parts.

That made the difference.

And what happened? I want people to understand, because a lot of our listeners, maybe 10% of them, 20% of them, overall country, are New Yorkers, so they're interested about what happened.

Absolutely, John.

This is a situation, it's over a year after The battles of Lexington and Concord and the siege of Boston where the British evacuate.

They then come back.

The Empire strikes back with the largest force ever assembled to conquer North America and to crutch the rebellion.

They bring about most of the Royal Navy, which is the most powerful navy in the world at the time, as well as most of their, two-thirds of their army.

They never have enough, so they bring in Hessian regulars from Germany and that are brought in as allies, and they're there to crush the nascent United States and Washington.

And that made the difference.

I want people to understand, 'cause a lot of our listeners, uh, uh, you know, maybe 10% of them, 20% of them, or overall country, uh, are New Yorkers, so they, they, they're interested about what happened.

Absolutely, John.

Uh, this is a situation, it's al- it's over a year after the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the, the Siege of Boston, where the B- British evacuate.

They then come back.

The empire strikes back with the largest force ever assembled to conquer North America and to crush the rebellion.

They bring about most of their, the Royal Navy, which is the most powerful navy of the world at the time, as well as most of their ar- two-thirds of their army.

They never have enough, so they bring in Hessian regulars from Germany, uh, that are, that are bought, brought in as allies, and they're there to crush the nascent United States and Washington.

And, uh, that made the difference.

Uh, but, but give us what context we need that led us to this watermelon patch in New York.

The greatest battle in the Revolution is one that most people don't even know, and that's the Battle of Brooklyn.

And the context, Mike, is it's the summer of 1776.

Lexington and Concord took place in 1775, the spring.

It's over almost a year, and the British are coming back with the biggest invasion of North American history.

Most of their, their fleet, the, the Royal Navy, which is the most powerful in the world, is sailing to the shores of North America.

It's, it's parked outside of New York City, and they're dropping off the greatest invasion of, of North America at the time.

What was he thinking at the time about this [laughs] endeavor?

And you've been an officer for a day at least.

Yeah, yeah.

My head is spinning.

We're giving him commands.

And this is all happening super fast.

And then out of nowhere, I think he saw my eyes that I was probably more scared than him.

It's like, I'm going to smoke you, dude.

Nobody knows you've done this.

Sixty-eight soldiers from Dog Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, stormed the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc amid a hail of machine gun fire and hand grenades in an effort to eliminate German artillery.

7.45 a.m. on June 6, 1944.

This is where Force A 225 Rangers were headed towards Pointe du Hoc.

And Pointe du Hoc, for those of you that don't know, is a rocky peninsula that juts out between Omaha Beach and Utah Beach.

The reason why anybody cared about it was in World War II, there were six big guns, mighty guns, that could threaten Omaha Beach or Utah Beach.

Pointe du Hoc had to be neutralized at all costs.

They threw nearly 1,000 bombers at Pointe du Hoc.

Mm-hmm

... which we use for semiconductors, um, the, the implications are qui- may, may be quite significant.

Um, and that's even before we got to the latest round of, uh, of escalation.

Um, if you look at things like, you know, forecourt, um, diesel prices in the UK, they're, they're up 16%, which, um, which isn't, isn't great for, you know, your average person in the street.

But more worryingly for us, if you look at what the forward curve is pricing for the, um, for some of these commodities, um, so if you look at December '26, uh, where prices are expected to be, and December '27, the likes of, um, in the US, uh, gasoline and diesel are up about 40%, and 2000, uh, or 2- 2027, about 25%.

Um, and, and actually more worryingly for the likes of the UK and, and Europe, uh, natural gas prices are up some 80%, or, you know, relative to what they, uh, were pricing in, in February.

Um, for December '26 they're, they're up about 80%.

Yeah.

And you're telling me that there were snipers in 1776?

Yes, Mike.

And, in fact, this is about the first Continental soldiers.

These were riflemen.

They were armed with a Pennsylvania long rifle, which is path-breaking technology for the time.

These men carried the Widowmaker.

Their deadly aim could take people out at two to three, sometimes 400 yards.

This

Patrick, what is important to know about Jubal Early and John Mosby?

Jubal Early is considered General Lee's mean old dog.

He's cantankerous.

He's not friendly.

And in terms of the relationship between Mosby and Jubal Early, they don't like each other.

They can't stand each other.

And this is an unfortunate thing for the Confederacy because had the two worked together in more coordination, the Capitol may have fallen.

Hand-to-hand, is this where Mosby leads the frontal assault on the Union?

Patrick introduces to Richard Blazer,

Richard Blazer is one of the most unlikely heroes of the Civil War.

He drives in the Ohio River a barge that delivers supplies before the war ends.

Richard Blazer joins the war, but he has this kind of knack for hunting people.

And he's a flop on the parade ground.

This guy's uniform is always disheveled.

His buttons are unbuttoned.

Who did Blazer report to? Blazer

Well,

yeah, I mean, most detectives don't wear any vests.

There was detectives there, there was regular street coppers there, and they were just outgunned.

They had to break into a sporting goods shop.

Yeah, they had to break into a sporting goods shop.

And the answer from most executives in police work are like, well, that's why we have a SWAT team.

Well, guess what? By the time the SWAT team gets there, it's over.

Like, how's that all kind of like, what's the workout look like?

Patrick, what is important to know about Jubal Early and John Mosby?

Jubal Early is considered General Lee's mean old dog.

He's cantankerous.

He's not friendly.

And in terms of the relationship between Mosby and Jubal Early, they don't like each other.

They can't stand each other.

And this is an unfortunate thing for the Confederacy because had the two worked together in more coordination, the Capitol may have fallen.

Hand-to-hand, is this where Mosby leads the frontal assault on the Union?

Paint that picture for us.

You're absolutely right.

1776 is a great turning point, but it was also the origins of one of the great crisis periods in American history where everything could have been lost.

And there were several key inflection points where this occurs.

The three books that I've written are on elite units that touch upon these inflection points.

And it's their individual agency that saves the war and Washington's army.

But the first great inflection point is at the Battle of Brooklyn.

Another great crisis, Washington's crossing of the Delaware to end the year of our independence.

Uh, paint that picture for us.

You're absolutely right.

Uh, 1776 is a, is a great turning point, but it was also the, the, the origins of one of the great crisis periods in American history where everything could've been lost, and there were several key inflection points where this occurs.

The three books that I've written are on elite units that are, that, that touch upon these inflection points, and it's their individual agency that saves the war and Washington's army.

Um, but the first great inflection point is at the Battle of Brooklyn, and this is, this begins, um, on the night of, uh, of August 26th, 27th, 1776, where the g- greatest land battle, uh, up until that point begins where the British land in Brooklyn, Long Island, and they outflank Washington's army.

And it's here that, you know, everything could be lost.

If 10,000 troops of the, the Continental Army are surrounded and annihilated and Washington is captured, the war is likely over.

Uh, another great crisis, uh, the Washington's crossing of the Delaware to end the, the year of our independence.

What is in Marblehead for people to find, Patrick?

John Glover's house.

Uh, and John, there's not really much in plain sight.

You have to s- it, it's- you have to sort of dig through it a little bit.

But for instance, there is a plaque for, on John Glover's home, which still exists.

Jeremiah Lee's house, uh, who...

There's a mansion.

He went on to become a member of Washington's cabinet.

Please continue, Francis.

If they capture the bridge, they'll probably destroy the, the, the American army because then they'll cut it in half [clears throat] and, um, and be able to [clears throat] basically really wreak havoc.

And, um, it's here that they, the, the Marbleheaders and Marylanders and many, many, uh, members of the Continental Army make an epic stand on the bridge.

And, um, and it, it's Washington himself that is nearby.

Um, he-- There, there's one account that says his, his horse literally touches one of the rails of the bridge.

He's that close and directing things, and they hold against the best, the cream of the British Army.

The, the grenadiers are making, you know, assault after assault on this bridge.

Is that correct, Patrick?

How did they do it, Patrick? Is there an explanation for how they crossed that river with those Durham boats?

They had Durhams and flat-bottomed boats, John, and yeah, it's the skill of the Marbleheaders [chuckles] that once again bring the army to safety.

All other attempts to cross the river that night failed, John.

None of them got across.

It was only the Marbleheaders and their skill in the boats that they were able to, to bring the army across, and this was a mission impossible.

The river was not cooperating, the currents.

Everything was going wrong once again.

Is that correct?

How was it, how was it found out, Patrick?

Well, what happens is Hickey gets nailed for, for trying to palm off a con- a, a, a counterfeit bill.

You know, at this time, um, money is, is scarce.

It's either...

You know, hard money is hard to come by, so their colonies are printing, they're printing their own money.

And they, they try to palm off, Hickey tries to palm off fake money, and he gets arrested, and they get...

He and Green are both put in, in, in, in confinement.

First of all, the Marbleheaders, how did they propose to get nine thousand men under the cover of Br- uh, un- uh... watched by the British across the East River?

What was the Marblehead opinion of Washington when he first arrived? Were they affectionate towards him as they became?

George Washington, uh, needed a headquarters, and that headquarters was at the Vassall house, and it was the Marbleheaders that were guarding the Vassall house.

That's where they encamped.

And Washington develops a very unique and important relationship with the Marbleheaders.

He trusts them.

Uh, and that bond of trust is something that'll extend through the entire Revolution.

And they guard Washington, and it's, it's here at the Vassall house that, um, you know, Washington's also introduced to nautical things.

Who are they, Patrick?

Go ahead, Princep- Prince- Patrick.

He has a company of cannon, uh, several cannon that are on Bunker Hill, and he's fighting back.

Uh, they're, they're using canister.

They're firing everything that they possibly can into the British ranks, and they're repelling them.

And, uh, it's Samuel Trevett's cannon.

It's some of the few, the only cannon that are actually participating.

There are others that, that are there, but they, they withdraw.

How do they fight it, Patrick? What is their awareness of the pandemic?

What is he in 1774, Patrick?

John Glover starts out, he's a self-made man, John, and a very wealthy self-made man.

About five foot three, stocky, red-haired, very scrappy.

Um, begins life as a cobbler.

Uh, does shoes and fishes as well, but builds up enough money to, to build a bar, i- which is extremely successful, and he buys his first ship, and then it's one ship after another from there, and he, he builds a fleet of ships, fishing ships as well as, uh, trading ships.

And John Glover is a self-made man.

They respect self-made individuals in Marblehead.

What is the result of their raid, Patrick? Is it successful?

Who are they to Marblehead? Why are they there then? And what is it that they make of what they see of the British come marching? Good evening to you.

Good evening, John.

It's great to be back on the show, and it's really an honor.

I always relish and treasure our conversations.

Well, we're in this cornfield because they are members of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.

They sit on the key committees of supply and safety.

And it's the Marbleheaders that brought in the bulk of the powder that the British are trying to seize, as well as the arms and cannon.

The Marbleheaders at this point, do they realize they're now in completely, that there's no backing out, that they're now in revolution from London? Do they talk about it?

How was it found out, Patrick?

Well, what happens is Hickey gets nailed for trying to palm off a counterfeit bill.

At this time, money is scarce.

Hard money is hard to come by, so they're colonies are printing they're printing their own money and they they try to palm off hickey tries to palm off fake money and he gets arrested and they get he and green are both put in in in confinement and what happens is you know they had no idea that they were plotting to kill washington but these two men start to talk to somebody else in this jail cell And then that individual basically rats on Hickey and Green and informs them that these guys are trying to kill Washington.

And Washington has – he develops some – he encourages something called the Committee of Intestines.

Part of it – John Jay is involved in this, and this is really the birth of American counterintelligence.

where they try to find out what these men did and knew.

First of all, The Marbleheaders, how did they propose to get 9,000 men under the cover watched by the British across the East River?

What was the Marblehead opinion of Washington when he first arrived? Were they affectionate towards him as they became?

George Washington needed a headquarters.

And that headquarters was at the vassal house.

And it was the marble headers that were guarding the vassal house.

That's where they encamped.

And Washington develops a very unique and important relationship with the marble headers.

He trusts them.

Who are they, Patrick? I mean, Washington, he