ARRT-Richmond 5/19/21 Meeting Notes
Pre-Guest Speaker Notes:
ARRT-R’s next meeting is scheduled for
7/21/21 at 6:30 p.m. This is a zoom
meeting! Sign in
details will be provided in the May
newsletter. Thanks again to Peggy Watson
for
allowing us to utilize the Osher
network.
Dr. Robert A. Selig will be our July
21st speaker, presenting virtually on “Do You Believe in Magic?
Spells and Witchcraft during the American War of Independence”.
Dr. Selig is a historical consultant
who received his Ph. D. in history from the Universitat Wurzburg in Germany in
1988. He has published a number of books on the American War of Independence
such as Hussars in Lebanon! A Connecticut
Towns and Lauzan’s Legion during the
American Revolution, 1780-1781 and a translation of A Treatise on Partisan Warfare by Johann von Ewald. Dr. Selig is a specialist on the role of
French forces under Count de Rochambeau during the American Revolutionary War
and serves as a project historian to the National Park Service for the
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail
Guest Speaker – Jack Kelly –
“Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty”
Mr. Kelly is an award-winning author
and historian. His books include “Band
of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won
America’s Independence”, which received the DAR History Medal. He is also the author of “The Edge of
Anarchy”, “Heaven’s Ditch”, and “Gunpowder” and is a New York Foundation for
the Arts fellow in Nonfiction Literature.
Kelly has appeared on The History Channel, National Public Radio, and
C-Span. He lives in New York’s Hudson
Valley.
Mr. Kelly believes “Valcour” is the
most important, unknown battle of the American Revolution.
Mr. Kelly considers “Valcour” to be
unknown because of the instrumental role Benedict Arnold played
in the battle and that covering a battle that occurs on water is very
complicated.
In the spring of 1776, the American
Army after returning from Canada was suffering through a
small-pox outbreak that rendered a
substantial amount of its manpower combat in-effective.
American leaders knew that if the British regained naval superiority on Lake Champlain they could use the lake as
a highway allowing them to transport men and supplies south to Fort
Ticonderoga. If the British re-took Fort
Ticonderoga they could more south down the Hudson Valley to Albany and then on
towards New York City. Control of the
lake might also allow British forces to move east off the lake into New
Hampshire and towards Boston.
The naval threat on Lake Champlain
caused an arms race as both the Americans and British hurried to build fleets.
The three American general officers
leading the effort where General Philip Schuyler, General Horatio Gates, and
General Benedict Arnold. General
Schuyler provided logistical expertise including moving naval stores to the
lake. General Gates provided
administrative experience that allowed him to handle the small pox outbreak,
improve morale, and impose stricter discipline on the army. General Arnold brought sailing experience and
was a proven combat leader who was able to inspire the men serving under him. In addition, Arnold was familiar with the
area based upon his experience traveling through the area before the war.
In 1776 Gates and Arnold got along
well. General Gates was serving as the Army’s operational commander and
appointed General Arnold as it’s “Fleet Commander”. In this role General Arnold was responsible
for building the fleet and leading it into battle.
“Building a Fleet in the Wilderness”
required logistical feats such as moving naval stores through the woods and
trails of eastern New York and enticing skilled labor to move from the Atlantic
coast to the shores of Lake Champlain.
American fleet
construction was centered on row galleys and gunboats while the British under
General Carleton labored to construct a frigate, “Inflexible”.
In late August, Arnold
moved the American Fleet north in an effort to locate Carleton’s fleet. However on September 30th Arnold
moved his fleet south to the west-side of Valcour Island. This move offered protection from bad weather
and allowed Arnold to hide his inferior force from the British.
On October 11th
the British fleet passed Valcour Island to the east. Once the British fleet was south of the
island Arnold began the battle forcing the British fleet to maneuver north. Combat lasted for hours but eventually
British naval superiority began to win the day.
Near sunset, the Inflexible was
finally able to join the fight and the American fleet was defeated. During the night Arnold sailed south with
what was left of his fleet.
While Arnold lost the
battle on October 11th his efforts caused Carlton to stop at Crown
Point for 2 weeks. Once the first snow
reached Lake Champlain at the end of October, Carleton made the decision that
the campaign was over and moved his army back north to Canada.
In the eyes of Mr. Kelly
if Arnold hadn’t built a fleet which he lead tenaciously at “Valcour”
Carlton would have
sailed south and seized Fort Ticonderoga.
From Fort Ticonderoga, Carleton could have then moved south down the
Hudson, meeting the Howe brothers in New York, and assisting in the destruction
of Washington’s Army. This would have
ended the American Revolution in last months of 1776.
--Noah Rogers
