When it was over, eleven of the fifteen vessels under Arnold’s command had been destroyed or captured versus only a handful of gunboats lost for the British. Two days later, they found the rebel fleet anchored in a defensive position between the western shore and Valcour Island. It was not until October 9 that the collection of gunboats, schooners, and large ships set sail in search of the Americans. Like their American counterparts, the British spent much of the summer building a fleet, a task made all the more difficult by the remote location of their base at Saint-Jean. Before he could advance, though, Carleton had to clear Lake Champlain of enemy resistance so that supplies for his army could flow freely from Canada. The British commander, General Sir Guy Carleton, hoped to capture Fort Ticonderoga at the southern end of the lake before winter arrived and use it as a base from which to push further south, eventually cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies. American missionaries not only took religion to foreign lands but spread American values as well. He established a ship yard at Skenesborough (present-day Whitehall, NY) and started building a fleet from scratch as fast as his labor and supplies would allow. In his book The Influence of Sea Power upon History, Alfred Thayer Mahan argued. The lake being the natural invasion route for an army moving south from Canada, Arnold recognized that in order to prevent an immediate disaster, he had to quickly build a fleet that was strong enough to slow the British advance, if not stop it outright. Not far behind them were fresh British reinforcements recently landed at Quebec. Following an unsuccessful invasion of Canada the year before, two expeditions led by Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgonery returned to the colonies devastated by casualties, disease, and lack of supplies. In 1898, the United States entered into the Spanish-American War, and Mahan was called back up to active duty. The summer of 1776 found American forces in the Lake Champlain Valley in full retreat. Learn about the career and writings of Alfred Thayer Mahan. If there is such a thing as a “good”defeat, the Battle of Valcour Island may be an example.
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