USS ''Philadelphia'' is a
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
(referred to in contemporary documents as a
gundalow
A gundalow (also known in period accounts as a "gondola") is a type of flat-bottomed sailing barge once common in Maine and New Hampshire rivers. It first appeared in the mid-1600s, reached maturity of design in the 1700 and 1800s, and lingered i ...
or gondola) of the
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...
. She was constructed from July-August 1776 for service during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. Manned by
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
soldiers, she was part of a fleet under the command of General
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
that fought against the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
in the
Battle of Valcour Island
The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and ...
on
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
. ''Philadelphia'' was sunk during the battle on 11 October 1776.
In 1935, amateur military marine archaeologist
Lorenzo Hagglund located her remains standing upright at the bottom of Lake Champlain. The wreck was raised to the surface and
salvaged. In 1961 she was bequeathed to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. ''Philadelphia'' and associated artifacts are now part of the permanent collection of the
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...
, in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, where curator
Philip K. Lundeberg was responsible for arranging her initial display. The vessel is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
and is a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.
Background
The
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, which began in April 1775 with the
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...
, widened in September 1775 when the Continental Army embarked on
an invasion of the British
Province of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
. The province was viewed by the
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...
as a potential avenue for British forces to attack and divide the rebellious colonies and was lightly defended. The invasion reached a peak on 31 December 1775, when the
Battle of Quebec ended in disaster for the Americans. In the spring of 1776, 10,000 British and German troops arrived in Quebec, and General
Guy Carleton, the provincial governor, drove the Continental Army out of Quebec and back to
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French mi ...
.
[For a detailed treatment of the background, see, e.g. Stanley (1973) or Morrissey (2003).]
Carleton then launched his own offensive intended to reach the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
, whose navigable length begins south of Lake Champlain and extends down to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Control of the upper Hudson would enable the British to link their forces in Quebec with those in New York, recently
captured in the New York campaign by Major General
William Howe. This strategy would separate the American colonies of
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
from those farther south and potentially quash the rebellion.
[ Hamilton (1964) pp. 17–18]
Following the American retreat from Quebec, the only ships on the lake were those of a small fleet of lightly armed ships that Benedict Arnold had assembled following the
capture of Fort Ticonderoga
The capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the fort's small British garrison. ...
in May 1775. This fleet, even if it had been in British hands, was too small to transport the large British army to Fort Ticonderoga.
[ Malcolmson (2001), p. 26]
Fleet development
During their retreat from Quebec, the Americans carefully took or destroyed all ships on Lake Champlain that might prove useful to the British. When Arnold and his troops, making up the rear guard of the army, abandoned
Fort Saint-Jean, they burned or sank all the boats that they could not use and set fire to the sawmill and the fort. These actions effectively denied the British any hope of immediately moving onto the lake.
[ Stanley (1973), pp. 131–132]
The two sides set about building fleets: the British at Saint-Jean and the Americans at the other end of the lake in Skenesborough (present-day
Whitehall, New York
Whitehall is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 4,035 at the 2000 census.
The Town of Whitehall contains a village also named Whitehall.
Hi ...
). While planning Quebec's general defenses in 1775, General Carleton had anticipated the problem of transportation on Lake Champlain, and had requested the provisioning of prefabricated ships from Europe. Because of this planning, the British were able to assemble a fleet that significantly overpowered that of the Americans.
[ Silverstone (2006), p]
15
/ref>[ Stanley (1973), pp. 133–136][ Miller (1974), p. 170] In total, the British fleet (25 armed vessels) had more firepower than the Americans' 15 vessels, with more than 80 guns outweighing the 74 smaller American guns.[ Silverstone (2006), pp]
15–16
/ref>[ Stanley (1973), pp. 137–138]
The American shipbuilding effort at Skenesborough was overseen by Hermanus Schuyler (possibly a relation of Major General Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.
Born in Alba ...
), and the outfitting was managed by military engineer Jeduthan Baldwin. Schuyler began work in April to produce boats larger and more suitable for combat than the small shallow-draft boats known as bateaux
A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. Th ...
that were used for transport on the lake. The process eventually came to involve General Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
, who was an experienced ship's captain, and David Waterbury
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, a Connecticut militia leader with maritime experience. Major General Horatio Gates
Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles ...
, in charge of the overall defense of the lake, eventually asked Arnold to take more responsibility in the shipbuilding effort because "I am intirely uninform'd as to Marine Affairs."[ Nelson (2006), p. 243]
Construction of ''Philadelphia''
''Philadelphia'' was one of eight gundalow
A gundalow (also known in period accounts as a "gondola") is a type of flat-bottomed sailing barge once common in Maine and New Hampshire rivers. It first appeared in the mid-1600s, reached maturity of design in the 1700 and 1800s, and lingered i ...
s (also called ''gondolas'' in contemporary documents) constructed at Skenesboro. She was laid down early in July 1776 and launched in mid-August. Constructed primarily of oak, she was larger than a bateaux at long with a beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of . She featured a single mast with square-rigged
Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called ''yards'' and ...
sail and topsail
A topsail ("tops'l") is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.
Square rig
On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a typically trapezoidal shaped sail rigged above the course sail and ...
, and mounted three cannons, one facing forward and two facing port and starboard respectively. She also had mounting points for up to eight swivel gun
The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun wi ...
s, and was estimated by the Smithsonian to displace . Late in her construction General Arnold ordered that her aft deck be raised to accommodate a mortar. After the mortar exploded during a test firing at Fort Ticonderoga, this modification was undone. To maintain equilibrium, ballast rocks were probably used in the aft portion of the boat once the mortar was removed. For the relative comfort of its crew, the boat had a canvas awning aft of the mast, and fascine
A fascine is a rough bundle of brushwood or other material used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Typical uses are protecting the banks of streams from erosion, covering marshy ground and so ...
s were probably lashed to its sides to diffuse musket fire aimed at the boat.
Service history
''Philadelphia'' was placed in service under Captain Benjamin Rue of Philadelphia shortly after completion. Late in August, General Arnold assembled his fleet and cruised provocatively on the northern stretches of Lake Champlain. On 23 September, in anticipation of the larger British fleet's arrival, he stationed his ships in Valcour Bay, the strait separating the western shore of the lake from Valcour Island. When the two forces clashed on 11 October, ''Philadelphia'' was under the command of Benjamin Rue,[ Nelson (2006), p. 262] and was part of the formation Arnold established in the Valcour strait. Early in the six-hour fight the 12-gun schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
ran aground and was burned.[ Miller (1974), p. 173][ Stanley (1973), p. 142] Toward dusk the British guns holed ''Philadelphia'' with a shot and she soon sank.[ Miller (1974), p. 174] Darkness ended the action, and Arnold was able to slip away during the night.[ Nelson (2006), pp. 307–309] Many of his remaining ships were burned, sunk, or captured over the next two days as the British pursued him toward Ticonderoga.[ Bratten (2002), pp]
67–69
/ref>
In sea trials of the replica ''Philadelphia II'', the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) is a non-profit museum located in Vergennes, Vermont, US. It preserves and shares the history and archaeology of Lake Champlain. As a maritime museum practicing archaeology, LCMM studies the shipwrecks ...
determined that the boat was not particularly maneuverable: contemporary accounts of sailing the vessels include reports that the gondolas skipped across the waters of the lake, blown by the wind, and needed safe shelter when winds were high.
Raising the wreck
In the 1930s, Lorenzo Hagglund, a veteran of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and a history buff, began searching the strait for remains of the battle. In 1932 he found the remains of ''Royal Savage''s hull, which he successfully raised in 1935.[ Bratten (2002), p]
75
/ref> Hagglund followed up his discovery of ''Royal Savage'' with the discovery of ''Philadelphia''s remains in 1935, sitting upright on the lake bottom.[ Bratten (2002), p]
77
/ref> He raised her that year; in addition to the guns and hull, hundreds of other items were recovered from the vessel. These relics included shot, cooking utensils, tools, buttons, buckles and human bones.[
''Philadelphia'' was exhibited at various locations on Lake Champlain and the Hudson River before becoming a long-term display at ]Exeter, New York
Exeter is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The town is located in the northern part of the county. The population was 987 at the 2010 census. It is named after the county town and cathedral city of Exeter in England.
History
...
. Lorenzo Hagglund spent years searching for other ships in Arnold's fleet, and raised another gunboat in 1952. Funding for a structure to house that find and ''Royal Savage'' fell through, and that boat's remains were eventually ruined through neglect and looting.[ Bratten (2002), p]
76
/ref>
In the wake of that failure Hagglund approached the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
to preserve ''Philadelphia'', and in 1961, bequeathed her and associated artifacts to that organization. According to the ''Whitehall Times'', the remains had suffered more damage during their time above water than below. The boat and artifacts are now part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...
, in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
[ She is listed on the ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
and is designated a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.[ She remains in precarious condition: as of 2001 the wood and iron fittings continued to show signs of deterioration despite attempts to stabilize them.][ Bratten (2002), pp]
91–92
/ref>
In 1997, another pristine underwater wreck was located during a survey by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) is a non-profit museum located in Vergennes, Vermont, US. It preserves and shares the history and archaeology of Lake Champlain. As a maritime museum practicing archaeology, LCMM studies the shipwrecks ...
. Two years later, it was conclusively identified as the gundalow
A gundalow (also known in period accounts as a "gondola") is a type of flat-bottomed sailing barge once common in Maine and New Hampshire rivers. It first appeared in the mid-1600s, reached maturity of design in the 1700 and 1800s, and lingered i ...
.
See also
*
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* This work contains detailed specifications for most of the watercraft used in the Battle of Valcour Island, as well as copies of draft documents for some of them.
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
Smithsonian 3-dimensional view of ''Philadelphia''
Footage of raising the ''Philadelphia''
The ''Philadelphia'' at the National Museum of American History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia (1776)
Row galleys of the Continental Navy
National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
Museum ships in Washington, D.C.
Ships preserved in museums
Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Individual sailing vessels
1776 ships
Artifacts in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution
Lake Champlain
Maritime incidents in 1776