Carleton's Prize is a small rock island in the

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

waters of

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 = , ...

, in Crescent Bay off the southwestern tip of South Hero. Rising from water's edge to a plateau, situated between Stave and Providence Islands, it has been called Carleton's Prize since 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 ...

when

Sir Guy Carleton Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (3 September 1724 – 10 November 1808), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and administrator. He twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, from 1768 to 17 ...

brought it to notoriety in 1776, the morning after 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 ...

. Local lore has it that it was very foggy on the lake as

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 ...

escaped from behind Valcour Island with what was left of his small fleet. Not believing the Americans could have slipped by in the dark (which they had), the British searched to the north and east. In the heavy fog they sighted what they thought was a ship and summarily pounded it with their cannons, smoke from the

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

adding to the lack of visibility. After up to an hour without return fire, either a breeze came up or the fog burned off, and the British realized they had not been firing on a ship. This distraction allowed Arnold to escape down the lake to

Addison, Vermont Addison is a town in Addison County, Vermont, Addison County, Vermont, United States. It was founded October 14, 1761. The population was 1,365 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Addison was chartered on October 14, 1761. Ben ...

, where he burned his remaining fleet to prevent capture. Local lore goes further to say that local Islanders had hoisted logs on the island to look like masts. Rust marks from fired cannon shot are still visible on the rock.

References

Lake islands of Vermont Islands of Lake Champlain South Hero, Vermont Islands of Grand Isle County, Vermont {{Vermont-geo-stub