Benedict Arnold: Traitor or Patriot?
This Essay on the Battle of Valcour Island was contributed to us by Howard Taylor of Stonington, CT.
In 1776 the British had a grand design to link British-held Canada with British-held New York City. If they had done so in the fall of that year they would have in all likelihood extinguished the American Colonies' rebellion by separating the new nation in half and fracturing its resistance. A Hessian officer in reflection noted that they had missed an opportunity to crush the revolution by a couple of weeks. Ironically, central to their ultimate loss of the war was their victory at the Battle of Valcour Island!
The Battle of Valcour Island
oil on canvas, 35" x 41”
Paul Garnett
This was the very first naval battle fought by the nascent United States Navy in autumn of 1776. The American Navy was led by one General Benedict Arnold, who applied his sailing acumen and bead insight to great effect His fled of a few sloops, a couple of schooners, and a motley collection of gunboats outwitted the British fleet of larger vessels and superior cannon. The Battle of Valcour Island was a glorious defeat where the outgunned Americans lost, but foiled the British recapture of Fort Ticonderoga and control of Lake Champlain and the Hudson Valley. Here is the story. . .
Before the Battle
In the late summer of 1776 General Arnold's Continental army had been chased out of the Province of Quebec by over 10,000 elite British and Hessian hoops led by General Carleton. On his way out of Canada and into Lake Champlain, Arnold captured British boats and destroyed those that could not be used. Significantly he captured a two masted schooner Royal Savage and several smaller gunboats and sloops, one of which was renamed Enterprise, the first in a distinguished lineage.
In preparation for the impending confrontation on the lake, both sides busied themselves shipbuilding. In the wilderness of the northern end of Lake Champlain the British constructed new boats. In addition, they transported a 180 ton warship over river and land from the city of Quebec in giant “kit from." This was reassembled lakeside to produce the square-rigged HMS Inflexible. Meanwhile at the other end of the lake, Arnold spearheaded the building of a fleet of topsail schooners, galleys, and gunboats. His mission: To delay the British advance to New York.
THE BATTLE
On the breezy morning of October 11th the British fleet sailed south down wind searching for the American fleet on Lake Champlain. Arnold had situated his vessels on the lee side of Valcour Island. The Americans in their smaller vessels were in shallow rocky waters, good for Arnold's gunboats not so good for the larger British ships. His plan was not to hide, he wanted confrontation, but on his terms. He sent Congress and Royal Savage south of the island to fire on the British as they sailed by. The British fell for the bait and predictably struggled to beat into the wind to return fire.Two of the largest British boats HMS Threader and HMS Maria were thus unable to ply a significant part in the battle. However British gunboats managed to harass Royal Savage driving her ashore where she was set ablaze (she's in the background of Gannett's painting). General Arnold transferred from Royal Savage to Congress as the battle evolved to a savage cirehontation of mostly smaller craft. Just as Arnold had planned. Heavy volleys were exchanged all afternoon along a line across the bay. Despite his captains' encouragement that the fleet head into the British to fight in open waters, Arnold held back. His intent remained that the object was delay rather than gamble on the glory of an unlikely triumph.
As if to emphasize the success of Arnold's tactics, the British fleet's most heavily armed ship, HMS Inflexible with her 22 guns was only able to join the fray late in the day. As dusk descended the vicious exchange of cannon and lead faded into stalemate. The British anchored confident of complete victory in the morning.
At a council of war that moonless night Arnold made the decision to retreat to Fort Crown Point. With the British distracted by the explosions from the hold of the burning Royal Savage, what was left of Arnold's navy sneaked around the western flank of anchored boats. The next morning the befuddled British gave chase but Arnold led his surviving men back to Crown Point and several days later the safely of Fort Ticonderoga.
Kith winter approaching General Carelton retreated barer the lake iced over. He and the British command were confident of a successful campaign in the spring and summer of 1777. But the Americans set about reinforcing the area and in the October of 1777 defeated the British twice in the Battles of Saratoga, both in which Arnold was the tactical and fighting hero.
Benedict Arnold: Patriot or Traitor?
The genesis of Benedict Arnold's patriotic glory is when he saved the American Revolution at Valcour Island. Yet ironically that battle was where Arnold's eventual defection took root. He had personally funded battle preparations -- the boat building, supplies and his men all summer and into the autumn. His receipts for the expenditures were on his ship the Royal Savage when she burnets in the battle. This lack of proof of his out-of-pocket expenses would directly lead to Arnold's later fight to be reimbursed with the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Congress ruled that Arnold actually owed them money! Many believe that his dissatisfaction with this led to his ultimate decision to defect to the British with intentions to surrender West Point, then known as Fort Arnold, to them.
