Tag Archives: History

Lake Champlain history

Black Snake Affair

Embargo and Smugglers

Political cartoon depicting merchants attempting to dodge the "Ograbme". Embargoes led to smuggling which led to the Black Snake Affair

Political cartoon depicting merchants attempting to dodge the “Ograbme”. “Ograbme” is Embargo spelled backwards.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the early years of the 1800’s Great Britain and France were fighting furiously in the Napoleonic Wars. Britain used economic warfare to try to damage France’s economy by restricting trade between their enemy and the newly independent United States. This seriously impacted the U.S. merchant marine. Congress and President Thomas Jefferson responded with Embargo Act of 1807, which limited trade with Canada (still a British colony at that time).

Many residents of the Champlain Valley relied on this trade with British Canada for their livelihood, and to provide a living they resorted to smuggling. Vermonters got angry. Their business was cut off and the potash trade forbidden. They saw no reason to let the faraway United States government tell them what to do. By boat and by pack horse, they carried potash to Canada and exchanged it for cash or store goods. From Canada the potash went to England. The illegal commerce continued via Lake Champlain and through the mountain passage that became known as Smugglers’ Notch.

Black Snake Affair – The Fight

U.S Revenue Cutter, Pickering - similar to Fly of the Black Snake Affair

U.S Revenue Cutter, ‘Pickering’ (similar to Fly)

In August, 1808, a revenue cutter named Fly, while enforcing the embargo on Lake Champlain, encountered a smuggling boat called Black Snake, a forty-foot, single-masted boat, known up and down the lake for smuggling potash to Canada. It was called the Black Snake because its hull was painted with black tar (some say this kept it from being spotted at night). Its captain, Truman Mudgett of Highgate, was equally famous. Lieutenant Daniel Farrington of Brandon, Vermont and thirteen federalized Vermont militia learned that the smugglers had gone up the Winooski River to take on potash destined for Canada.

August 4, Farrington rowed up the river searching for the smugglers. After he found Black Snake beached, he placed some crewmen aboard Black Snake and headed down the river with both boats. This prompted threats against the revenue officers as they took Black Snake. The smugglers then moved down the bank of the river and shot at Fly killing the helmsman, Ellis Drake. Farrington put ashore to capture the smugglers, but walked into an ambush in which he was wounded and another of his men, Amos Marsh, and Jonathan Ormsby, a farmer, were killed.

The Trial

In a few days all of the smugglers were captured – some as they tried to flee to Canada, and most were tried within a few weeks. The trial of these men stirred up anger between those who supported the United States president and the embargo, and those who did not. So many Vermonters agreed with smuggling that it was hard to pick a fair jury for the trial. Ethan Allen, Jr., son of the famous hero, was dismissed from jury duty after saying the prisoners were not guilty of any crime and should be set free.

Four of the men were found guilty of manslaughter, but three later were pardoned. However, the court sentenced Cyrus Dean, perhaps the most vocal of the smugglers, to be hanged. On November 11, a large crowd (perhaps 10,000) watched his execution in Burlington. The  incident became known as The Black Snake Affair.

The following is from a song written shortly after the Black Snake Affair:

THEN FARRINGTON SAILED DOWN THE LAKE . . .

Then Farrington sailed down the Lake,

And this he to the rebels spake,

‘Orders I have to take the Snake,

And all the smugglers on the Lake.

The men who laid this smuggling plot,

Was Sheffield, Mudgett, Dean, and Mott ,

And many others who were not clever,

Spread out their sails on Onion River.

Then Mudgett gave a threatening word,

To all the men on board,

“The first that steps into the Snake,

A lifeless corpse of him I’ll make . “

(The song goes on to tell about the fight,

the murder of the soldiers by the smugglers,

and their capture.)

These men were tried all for the same crime,

Why not alike their sentence find;

Dean was sentenced to the halter,

The rest convicted of manslaughter.

Ethan Allen: His Life and Times
is the story of one of Vermont’s
most famous citizens.Written by
Willard Sterne Randall this book
sheds a new light on one of
Vermont’s founding fathers.
Buy Ethan Allen: 
His Life and Times
Here

 

 

More About Lake Champlain History:

Fort Blunder

Posted May 25, 2012 – 9:18am by Eric_LaMontagne

Fort Montgomery or 'Fort Blunder' Lake Champlain historic sites

A 1906 post card of Fort Montgomery, the site where Fort Blunder once not-so-proudly stood.

Off the Lake Champlain shore in Rouses Point, NY, where Fort Montgomery currently stands, is the site of a big mistake.

It was 1816 and Canada was still under British control. American troops were coming off of their victory at The Battle of Plattsburgh two years earlier and had started to think about how they could protect themselves from future aggression out of the North. Island Point has been identified as a key strategic area for the US military due to its proximity to the Richelieu River and the relative narrowness of the lake. It became a priority of President James Monroe that a fort be erected there to ward off further confrontation. Construction soon started on an enormous, octagon-shaped fort with 30-foot tall walls.

In the fall of 1818, after only two years of construction, President Monroe paid the site a visit and to check in with the Joseph Totten, the site supervisor. Despite the great progress with the construction, it was soon discovered that the fort had been placed a little too far north. New survey standards revealed the site was nearly a mile north of the boarder, putting it solidly on Canadian ground!

The site was immediately abandoned. Materials from the partially-built building were left to be scavenged by impoverished residents for their own needs. The lifespan of the fort was so short that it never even got to the stage of being named. Records only refer to it as The Fort, The Works, or The Battery at Rouse’s Point. As a salute to this monument to poor-planning, the site soon became widely known as “Fort Blunder.”

The site stayed empty for 27 years. In 1844, two years after British Canada ceded the land to the US as part of the Webster-Ashburn Treat of 1842, the US government began construction of a new fort on the strategic location. After roughly 30 years of construction, the still-standing Fort Montgomery was completed.

Sources-

http://www.historiclakes.org/explore/Montgomery.html

http://wn.com/Fort_Montgomery_Lake_Champlain

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Fort Montgomery or Fort Blunder

Note: This is what Fort Montgomery looks like today >>

Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor

Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor

Willard Sterne Randall (Author)

Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor

There are some names that stand out in the history of Lake Champlain and the Champlain Valley: Samuel de Champlain, Robert Rogers, Ira and Ethan Allen, Thomas Macdonough and Benedict Arnold. All are thought of as heroes to some extent. The luster has worn off  for a few, as we look at  them as the complex human beings that they were in reality. ‘Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor’ by Willard Sterne Randall examines the complex life of Benedict Arnold.

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Traitor or Hero?

Benedict Arnold has taken his place in history as America’s greatest traitor and villain. Although I was familiar with some of his earlier heroic deeds, I was unaware of just how critical his patriotic deeds in support of the Revolution were to its success.

Arnold seemed to be everywhere at the beginning of the Revolution. Arnold was part of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, whose cannons were transported and used to force the British to abandon Boston. He was instrumental in planning and organizing the invasion of Canada, which but for bad luck, might have succeeded. As a naval commander he built America’s first navy, and used it to stop the British advance down Lake Champlain and into New York. Later at Saratoga, it was Benedict Arnold who insured the battlefield victory for the Americans, and ultimately French support for the American cause.

Benedict Arnold’s Downfall

Image of American Revolutionary War General Benedict Arnold

Randall’s portrayal of Benedict Arnold could well be the setting of a Greek tragedy or play by Shakespeare. Despite his unequaled contributions to the Patriot cause, Arnold was slighted and his character attacked by the Continental Congress and fellow officers. In addition he was faced with financial ruin because Congress refused to reimburse him for back pay or the money that he personally spent to equip and train his troops and fleet.

Many of the same difficulties that Arnold faced were similar to those faced by another ‘hero’ of Lake Champlain military campaigns, Robert Rogers. Rogers, the charismatic leader of Roger’s Rangers in The French and Indian War, was also denied repayment for outfitting and paying his troops. He too was the target of lesser officers looking to advance or protect their standing by diminishing his. Ultimately, he too, offered his services to The Crown and earned the scorn of his countrymen.

Benedict Arnold was a very proud man and impatient for recognition and reward for his services. When these were not given, and Arnold’s character was again attacked for falling in love and marrying Peggy Shippen, a Loyalist, the outcome was almost inevitable.

Our Recommendation

This is a very interesting story and is well-told by Randall. You can almost see the unfolding of this tragedy step-by-step. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I’ve read it twice.  “Benedict Arnold:  Patriot and Traitor” is a good read and I heartily recommend it.


The Naval War of Benedict Arnold

The Naval War of Benedict Arnold

By Mike Burleson

Benedict Arnold.

The later treason of Benedict Arnold cannot disguise the fact that early in the Revolutionary War he was one of Washington’s most effective generals. At the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, considered by historians as the turning point in the war against Britain, Arnold as much as any other American commander deserves credit for achieving victory. A year earlier, on October 11, 1776 off Valcour Island on Lake Champlain, the young general displayed his martial talents on the sea as well.

After the disastrous American invasion of Quebec in the winter of 1775-76, General Arnold realized the British would use the Great Lakes to reconquer her rebellious colonies. He immediately began the construction of one of the strangest fleet ever seen in American waters. Four ships were of traditional schooner design, but there were also gondolas and galleys of various size and armament:: a total of 16 warships. General Guy Carleton commanded on the British side of the Lake., who upon seeing the American construction could not but respond in kind. He proceeded to build and equip a larger a more powerful fleet of 30 warships, which included schooners and gunboats, plus a powerful sailing raft, the Thunderer.

Altogether Carleton had twice the firepower of Arnold’s makeshift fleet, though this failed to deter the aggressive colonial. Sailing with part of his fleet the American took a favorable position upwind near Valcour Island. Forming the vessels in a crescent, he hoped to surprise any British attack down the Lake. Carleton was less cautious than Arnold and sailed boldly past the island. As expected the British were surprised to find the Americans formed for battle, and Arnold had been reinforced by the rest of his fleet.

Forced to sail against a northerly breeze, Carleton could only attack with part of his. These included the gunboats, which had oars as well as sail. Arnold set out in the galley Congress (10 guns), with Royal Savage (12) and 2 others to intercept. The combined and accurate firepower of the British became too much for the Americans and they withdrew to the original anchorage. Disaster struck when Royal Savage ran aground, and later was abandon by her crew.

By noon all the American vessels were engaged, but because of Arnold’s shrewd maneuver, Carleton’s best ships were kept out of most of the fight. These included the unhandy ThundererLoyal Convert (7), and the big Inflexible (18). The twenty British gunboats, with the schooner Carleton (12), kept up a merciless fire on the bold rebels, however. Carleton soon lost her cable spring: uncontrollable she was towed out of the fight.

The gunboats had suffered too, and the British decided at dusk to withdraw to renew the fight at dawn. Arnold realized his smaller force would be destroyed the next day, so in the darkness his ships slipped silently pass Carleton. Come morning the Americans were 10 miles down the Lake, and Arnold anchored his battered fleet for hasty repairs. He would get no respite from the British that day, who were in hot pursuit. The battle was renewed at Split Rock.

In Congress, Arnold fought back until his ships were in tatters. Realizing the inevitable, he ordered his depleted forces, including the galleys, run aground and abandoned. Gone were 11 of the 16 American warships he had at the start of the battle. Carleton controlled the Lakes, but his own casualties prevented any further campaigning that year. The great invasion of the south was delayed until 1777, giving the Americans precious time to prepare. All this would culminate in the decisive American victory at Saratoga.

As Alfred Thayer Mahan would state: “That the Americans were strong enough to impose the capitulation of Saratoga was due to the invaluable year of delay secured to them in 1776 by the little navy on Lake Champlain.”

My name is Mike Burleson and I currently reside in historic Branchville, SC. Last year I completed my first book also titled “New Wars-The Transformation of Armies, Navies, and Airpower in the Digital Age”, available for purchase from Blurb.com As a freelancer my articles on military issues have appeared in The American Thinker, The Washington Post, Sea Classics Magazine, Townhall.com via Opeds.com, Buzzle.com, and Strategypage.com. My blog title New Wars concerning military issues is updated daily.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Burleson

http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Naval-War-of-Benedict-Arnold&id=2354566

Conquered Into Liberty – Book Review

Following is a review of the book Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath That Made the American Way of War by Dr. Eliot Cohen. This book provides insights into the military and political history of the Lake Champlain region through the French & Indian Wars, The Revolution and the War of 1812. Thanks to American Diplomacy for permission to reprint this review.

Conquered into Liberty

Review by David T. Jones

Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath That Made the American Way of War

Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles along the Great Warpath that Made the American Way of War

by Eliot A. Cohen, Free Press, New York, NY 12011

Dr. Eliot Cohen is well credentialed to write military history. Currently, a professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, he earlier taught at Harvard and the Naval War College. He served on the policy planning staff of OSD in the 1980s and was Counselor for Secretary of State Rice from 2007-09.

Conquered into Liberty starts with a provocative title and embraces two argumentative thematic conclusions: (a) the United States lost the War of 1812; and (b) we learned all we needed to know about military strategy/tactics during the two centuries of fighting Indians, French, and British along the “Great Warpath” lands stretching from Albany, NY into Montreal, Canada.

The sobriquet “conquered into liberty” refers to a (previously) totally forgotten 1774 proclamation pamphlet issued by the Continental Congress urging Canada to unite with the colonies by embracing their liberties and freedoms – or suffer the consequences. There is no real indication that our northern neighbors paid attention to the propaganda piece.

As Canada is about to enter into a two-year commemoration of the War of 1812, Cohen’s first conclusion, Conquered’s bow to Canadian triumphalism should increase sales in Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. But, as examined below, the judgment is questionable.

At its best Conquered, provides interesting accounts, from strategic background to tactical on-the-ground reviews of long obscure fighting along the Great Warpath for almost two centuries between 1690 and 1871. Thereby, Cohen brings alive a series of often bloody episodes that examine the problems of combat in this wild and very lightly populated area in which command of the waters, particularly Lake Champlain and Lake George, was pivotal for success.

Champlain Valley, 1777

Champlain Valley, 1777

Initially the fighting was between French and British, a North American sidebar for their global wars primarily focused in Europe. Combat increasingly also engaged the Europeans living in the region and Indian tribes as well as British and French regular forces. It is noteworthy that while the Indians ultimately were ground up in the process, depopulated by disease as well as military losses and the era’s equivalent of ethnic cleansing, they were hardly peaceful innocent victims. Indeed, Indian terrorism and the inability of either side to control their depravations are well enough described to leave little sympathy for an outcome that largely annihilated them throughout the region. Instead, the circumstances demonstrate how difficult it is to command effectively tribal groups on whom civilization, let alone the quality of mercy, rests lightly. Read Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, for modern parallels.

And in passing, Cohen describes French and Indian War commander, Louis Montcalm as more than a backdrop/foil for British commander James Wolf’s defining victory at Quebec. Earlier in the war, Montcalm effective held off British/colonial efforts to thrust into Canada.

Cohen also effectively describes the American efforts at the beginning of the Revolution to seize Canada and how the absence of anything approaching trained troops and effective logistics thwarted the effort. Subsequently, he recounts how Americans, brilliantly led by Benedict Arnold, defeated British attacks, first at Valcour Island in 1776 and then at Saratoga in 1777. At Valcour Island, in Lake Champlain, Arnold sparked the construction of a makeshift fleet and then fought a stronger British force to a standstill. His success in rallying American forces at Saratoga demonstrated remarkable leadership/courage.

But Cohen has adopted the now fashionable “reset” view of Arnold as greatly sinned against (while not yet excusing his treason). Describing him as “the most disturbing figure in American military history,” he compares him with southern Civil War figures that got off lightly for their treason. Nevertheless, the Arnold saga reminds one of Frederick Douglas’ reported observation about Confederate courage that it was all the worse since it was in an evil cause.

Some of Cohen’s conclusions are commensurately debatable. His contention that “Ultimately, Canada and Canadians won the War of 1812” is at best an overstatement. Admittedly, it may be seen as a bit tendentious to respond that it was not “Canada and Canadians” that won—if there were winners, they were “British.” Any resident of Canada was “British”—not Canadian. Nevertheless, this is not a trivial point in modern terms where Canadian wacko nationalists contend that the United States attacked “Canada” and is poised to do so again. Our perfect riposte is that we attacked these British possessions because it was easier to march to Montreal than to London. Cohen’s best argument that we lost the war would be based on the debacle defeats of our initial invasions where U.S. military incompetence defeated us as much as British military prowess, but he doesn’t discuss these actions. On the other hand, his conclusion is gainsaid by his description of the 1814 naval battle of Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain where again a technically inferior U.S. fleet commanded by Thomas Macdonough totally defeated a British force manned by veteran seamen. British negotiators in Ghent, earlier flushed with success and anticipating border adjustments to their benefit, were disconcerted. The Times of London noted “Victory remains with the Americans…” And, the overwhelming U.S. victory at New Orleans was fought before Congress formally approved the peace. Prominent historian David McCullough believes that if the British had won at New Orleans, they would have reopened the negotiations. Thus at worst, we “lost” because we didn’t conquer Canada. But we could also argue that we “won” by defeating the British in multiple engagements and creating circumstances where it was clear the United States could not be invaded.

More opaque is Cohen’s conclusion that our current military attitudes reflect the legacy of the Great Warpath. He suggests that inter alia our “improvisational, far less rule-bound” tactics, willingness to perform “cross border operations,” effective focus on logistics, and effective middle-level “managers” were learned from hard lessons on the Great Warpath. Maybe. But maybe Americans had already learned flexibility from living on an unforgiving frontier. Maybe we had never hesitated to pursue outlaws/Indian miscreants wherever they attempted to hide? Maybe our attention to logistics in modern warfare came from the creation of “time study” reflected in 19th-20th century industrial production techniques? That there is a do-what-is-necessary-to-get-it-done approach that is existentially American and applied to every facet of our society; early combat along the Great Warpath simply reflected (rather than created) such attitudes.

Perhaps Conquered most frustrating shortcoming is the absence of modern, coherent maps to provide tactical insight into the military actions related in each chapter. Unfortunately, the maps heading each chapter are archaic “period piece” historical items requiring the skills of an archeological cartographer to decipher. There is no map depicting the “Great Warpath.” Another shortcoming is the total absence of photography—although available photos would likely be only reproductions of stilted portrait paintings, some such as “Green Mount Boy” Ethan Allen, British general John Burgoyne, Ranger leader Robert Rogers, and assorted British and French governors of Canada would have been interesting complements to Cohen’s descriptions.

Nevertheless, as a summing up, Conquered makes for engaging politico military history, often revealing all but forgotten tidbits of times and personalities long behind us.

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Author

American Diplomacy is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to American Diplomacy

David T. Jones, a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer, served as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. He is frequent contributor to American Diplomacy and other publications as well as the co-author of Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs, a book about U.S.-Canada relations.

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>>Click Here to purchase ‘Conquered Into Liberty‘<<

Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath That Made the American Way of War
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