Expeditionary· American Revolutionary War
Lake Champlain Operations
Through the summer and fall of 1775, men acting as Marines served aboard the small American flotilla that contested Lake Champlain, the schooners Liberty and Royal Savage and a collection of bateaux.
These crews were drafted from the army brigades on the lake; one officer was assigned as lieutenant of Marines aboard the Royal Savage with a complement of twenty-five men, and the Marine lieutenant James Calderwood left a watercolor of that schooner. Their work ran to patrolling, screening troop movements, and supporting landings as the Americans pushed north toward Quebec. The lake was the only practical highway between the colonies and Canada, so command of its waters was a strategic prize. This early activity built the foundation for the larger Champlain naval force that Arnold would lead into battle at Valcour Island the following year.
Engagements in this conflict (4) Podcast episodes on American Revolutionary War
Record no. 159