Fight at Valcourt Island

With the failure of the American invasion of Canada in 1775, Benedict Arnold launched a brilliant campaign of delays and delays designed to prevent the rapid advance of the counterattack troops of Sir Guy Carlton and General Burgoyne . Champlain Lake defines geography in northern New England, right down to Canada. From it flows the river Richelieu, and flows until it flows into the St. Lawrence River above Montreal . The Hudson flows in the opposite direction to New York . Together they form the main waterway from north to south along the meridian, in the XVIII century - the only way for the army through impassable in the rest of the territory.

The cornerstone of New England defense was Lake Champlain and the American-held forts Crown Point and Ticonderoga, forming a cordon on the Hudson River waterway. The successful combination of British forces from Canada in the north and New York in the south could cut off the northern, New English provinces, considered the breeding ground of the riot, from the rest of the allied colonies. But American ownership of Lake Champlain prevented this. ^[one]

Demonstrating great energy and ingenuity, General Arnold assembled an impromptu flotilla of armed ships: 3 schooners , 4 galleys , 8 gondolas. ^{[1] [4]} For most of 1776, these forces dominated the lake. But the British, drawing on the experience and human resources of the Royal Navy , or rather the squadron in the St. Lawrence River, actively gathered their own fleet all summer. Two schooners and a three-masted ship were dismantled, delivered (in difficult conditions) by land and assembled in St. John's, at the top of the lake path. They were supplemented by a racheau armed with Ketch (middle between a bombardment ship and Pram ) and 20 rowing gunboats . This flotilla was much more powerful than anything Arnold could set, but the British flagship , the 22-gun Inflexible , was only ready for launch on October 4 . ^[one]

On October 10, Arnold retreated to Walcourt Island, about halfway down the lake, and anchored , building his ships in a crescent, in his own words:

so that few ships could attack us at the same time, and even they fell under the fire of the entire fleet

Original text

in such a form that few vessels can attack us at the same time, and those will be exposed to the fire of the whole fleet ^[5]

The British noticed the colonial flotilla of the 11th, only passing the island, and were forced to attack from the leeward , at intervals too long for mutual support. But when the attack took place, the battle was stubborn. The American Royal Savage was soon knocked out of the line, taken and burned by the British. At the same time, the British Carleton (called the brig , actually armed with a schooner) was badly battered, and if not for the courage of one midshipman - in the future, the famous captain Edward Pelju - would be lost. As night fell, the British also anchored, intending to deliver the final strike at dawn.

But at night, the surviving ships of Arnold seeped through their line, and fled south. A three-day chase followed, during which the Americans lost 2 more “gondolas”. On October 13th, Inflexible with two schooners finally caught up with them, and the three of them tied the American fleet in battle. Despite the staunch defense of the Washington armed ship and Congress galleys, American forces were defeated. Most American ships limited themselves to running aground to avoid captivity.

Ultimately, the two lowered their flags . Arnold burned Congress and 4 gondolas, and their land crews went to Crown Point. Only 2 galleys (one unfinished), 2 schooners, 1 gondola and a sloop survived . The latter, called Lee , was captured the next day and joined the British prizes: Washington and the Jersey gondola. ^[one]

The tactical victory was for the British. But the strategic definitely remained with Arnold: the navigation season was coming to an end, and it was too late for Carleton to oppose Crown Point or Ticonderoga. All this created the conditions for the campaign of 1777, which ended with Saratoga .

By the standards of naval battles, the island of Walcourt was just a minor skirmish. But its consequences were enormous: the British offensive of 1776 was delayed for a season, the rebellious colonies could not be cut, and the Continental Army had a chance, which it used under Saratoga. The latter pushed France to open intervention on the side of the colonists.

According to Mahan , it was "the struggle of the Pygmies for the whole continent." ^[6]

• Allen, Gardner W. A Naval History of the American Revolution , Volume 1. Cambridge, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1913.
• Navies and the American Revolution, 1775-1783 / Robert Gardiner, ed. - Chatham Publishing, 1997. - ISBN 1-55750-623-X .
• Alfred Thayer Mahan. Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence. - Cambrige, MA: The Uiversity Press, 1913. - 280 p.