The Mariners' Museum : Birth of the U.S. Navy
Continental Navy

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Overview of the Continental Navy
Washington's Navy: April 1775-March 1776
War at Sea: John Paul Jones at Flamborough Head
Naval Force on Lake Champlain, 1776
Yorktown and the Battle of the Capes


Naval Force on Lake Champlain, 1776

In the fall of 1775 Washington gave Colonel Benedict Arnold command of an American expedition into Canadian territory.
General Benedict Arnold. From the collections of The Mariners' Museum.
Public sentiment held that the Canadian Provinces were as eager to break free of British rule as the Americans, but this was not to be. Crossing overland with a force of six hundred, Arnold joined Brigadier General Richard Montgomery and his three hundred men outside Quebec City. They attacked the city during a snowstorm on December 31, 1775. It was a complete failure. Montgomery was killed, Arnold wounded, and over half
Battle of Lake Champlain. Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy. Naval Institute Press.
the American force captured. The arrival of British reinforcements in spring compelled Arnold to withdraw his remaining troops and lift the siege.

Eleven thousand strong, the British were now on the offensive. Withdrawing southward in June 1776 along the St. Lawrence River to Lake Champlain, the Americans were pursued by Major General Sir Guy Carlton. In the wilderness of upper New York where roads were virtually nonexistent, naval superiority on the lake was the key to controlling the region. The British force halted at St. John's to begin the construction of a squadron of vessels while the Americans retreated down the lake to Crown Point. Quickly, the British arrayed a squadron of three ships, twenty gunboats, and an immense raft manned and armed for battle.

The Americans also pursued the construction of a fleet on Lake Champlain. Now under the command of General Horatio Gates, Arnold oversaw the construction of the American squadron at the southern end of the lake at Skenesboro.
Gunboat battle on Lake Champlain. From the collections of The Mariners' Museum.
By the end of the summer of 1776, the revolutionary naval squadron on the lake consisted of sixteen ships ranging in size from small galleys carrying eight to ten guns to slightly smaller "gundalows" carrying three guns. In August, Arnold sailed north with his flotilla to drill his green crews. The British ships sailed south with a force of twenty-nine ships and far more firepower.

On October 11, 1776, as the British sailed past Valcour Island, the American force concealed itself on the lee side of the island. When the English spotted the Americans, a wind from the north put the British at a disadvantage. In the engagement that followed, the British failed to bring all their ships into battle. Nevertheless, the superior firepower of the British gave them a decisive edge in the day's engagement. Darkness fell before either side could claim victory. Arnold knew that dawn would bring defeat, and wisely used the fog and darkness to cover his retreat south.
Battle on Lake Champlain. From the collections of The Mariners' Museum.
 
Seeing his opportunity to destroy the Americans, Carleton set off in pursuit. The chase continued for two days. As the American gunboats were overtaken, their crews beached and burned them. Only five of Arnold's vessels made it to the American stronghold at Crown Point.

While the conflict was a tactical defeat for the Continental Navy, it was a strategic victory for the American forces. Building a fleet on Lake Champlain delayed the British until it was too late in the season to attack Fort Ticonderoga. Arnold's delaying action allowed the Americans valuable time to prepare for Burgoyne's attack south from Canada, a key factor in defeating him. In turn, Bourgoyne's defeat at Saratoga would result in French recognition of the independence of the colonies, helping to forge the French alliance that would lend the Americans the strength of the French army and navy.

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Yorktown and the Battle of the Capes
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