Certain dates on the calendar need no other descriptive words to evoke emotion than just the simple statement of the date itself. One of those dates is September 11th. Those of us who can remember know exactly where we were in 2001 on that fateful day. When our nation came under attack, we saw the horrific scene unravel right before our eyes. That day will forever live in infamy.
Yet on that fateful date of September 11th, the date we associate with our nation coming under attack, another invasion from a foreign enemy happened in the year 1814. Almost exactly 300 miles to the north of Manhattan lies Plattsburgh, New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. On that date a British army of approximately 8,000 troops, many of whom were some of Europe's finest soldiers fresh off of victories in the Napoleonic Wars, marched into Plattsburgh. Their opposition: mostly local militia. In addition, a full-fledged British Navy also entered Lake Champlain with an impressive naval fleet ready to take on the American fleet anchored in Cumberland Bay to face off against a relatively young Commodore Thomas MacDonough. The odds seemed to be heavily in the favor of the British land and naval forces, and the borderline arrogance of the British command reflected that confidence.
However, Lake Champlain had always had a way of humbling large, over-confident British forces. During the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), James Abercrombie's force of almost 16,000 failed to take Fort Carillon (Fort Ticonderoga) from the French and Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm, who defended the fort with only 3,500. Then, there's Johnny Burgoyne's fateful 1777 campaign with a force of over 7,000, who made their way through the Champlain Valley en route to defeat at Saratoga. The Battles of Saratoga would be the turning point of the Revolutionary War, with France entering the conflict on the side of the colonies.
Indeed, the Americans would once again humble a large, over-confident British force and change the course of the War of 1812, giving the American delegates negotiating for peace in Ghent an invaluable bargaining chip in not giving into Britain's demand for land compensation.
There's one work of British/Canadian history that I love to quote, because it's so emblematic of the typical views of the early 20th century from the Canadian perspective. In his work, "The Tercentenary History of Canada," Frank Basil Tracy writes the following about the Battle of Plattsburgh and the Champlain Valley:
"The story of this campaign which we are about to tell is almost unbelievable. Even with all the records before us, it can not be adequately explained. It was but one more illustration of our own rule that any expedition that went either up or down Lake Champlain was doomed to defeat if any opposition was made. Lake Champlain has thus been the graveyard of reputations in North America [emphasis added]." In order to tell the full story though, we should go back to the beginning.
The Trade Embargo and Conflicts of Commerce
After the Revolutionary War, settlers of European descent came in droves to the Champlain Valley, which up to that time had seen little in the way of white settlement. With natural resources abound, the economy of the region enjoyed modest success, and trade with Canadian merchants was flourishing. This was the case for a couple of reasons. The topography of the area made it difficult to transport goods over land to southern New England or New York. The Champlain Canal would not begin construction for another decade. Trains were still in the distant future. But, with Lake Champlain's natural water highway, combined with the Richelieu River in Canada, trade to the north was the path of least resistance and great profit.
However tensions were growing between the young nation of America and Great Britain. Disputes on the high seas led President Thomas Jefferson to issue a trade embargo with British controlled Canada. This led to a regional boom in illegal trade and smuggling, which created a divide in the population's attitude towards the embargo. On a whole, the embargo was very unpopular especially in Vermont.
There are two incidents that reflect the tensions of the time. One that is fairly well known, and the other that is not well known at all.
Black Snake Affair/Hell's Gate Riot
The first incident is fairly well known in the histories of Vermont. On Lake Champlain, there was an elusive smuggling vessel that was called the Black Snake. This vessel was called the Black Snake because it was covered in black tar. This was as close to a pirate ship as you could get on Lake Champlain. The specialty of this vessel was the illegal transport of potash into Canada. This vessel eluded customs officials in a frustrating manner.
But in 1808, officials received word that the elusive Black Snake had been spotted about 3 miles up the Winooski River near the Ethan Allen Homestead. Once they received that intelligence, the revenue cutter Fly closed in. The encounter quickly turned violent, with two of the troops in charge of customs enforcement shot dead, along with a bystander. 8 of the 10 smugglers were arrested on the spot, with the two others fleeing, but eventually captured at the border. One of the smugglers was sentenced by the Vermont Supreme Court to death in what would be Vermont's first official execution in front of 10,000 onlookers.
The second incident is far less known, and took place in my hometown of Georgia, Vermont. This incident, called either the Hell's Gate Riot, or the Georgia Smuggler's Riot, happened on an unknown date. It was estimated to have occurred sometime between 1808 and 1814, although most likely it was before the hostilities of the War of 1812 broke out.
At this time, Georgia Vermont was interestingly enough one of the most populous towns in northern Vermont. Within the town, the smuggling activity was more frowned upon than in some of the neighboring towns, with several customs officers residing in Georgia. In fact, some of the smugglers referred to Georgia as Hell's Gate owing to the increased hostility towards the illicit trade.
On one unknown evening, an organized gang of 100 smugglers (or smuggling sympathizers) marched on Georgia in a quest to distract the customs officers in town from another group of smugglers with a large quantity of contraband. This group had a knowledge of the customs officers in town, and targeted them directly. The incident turned violent, and a few customs officers and associates were beaten and taken hostage. The altercation shook the town, and a militia was quickly formed. However, the conflict had already de-escalated later in the evening without any known loss of life.
There are many other examples of the tensions created by the embargo from around the Champlain Valley. This embargo divided communities, as well as local and state governments. I'm sure there are countless stories of tensions flaring, especially among the communities close to the Canadian border. Indeed, these were anxious times as many had to take to illegal trade for their livelihoods.
The Declaration of War
The European affairs of the early 19th century had a direct impact on the events that eventually led to the United States declaring war on Great Britain. The Napoleonic Wars were in full swing, plunging almost all of Europe into yet another state of war. The United States at this time was a neutral party that enjoyed trade with both France and England as the respective countries were in need of supplies. That changed in 1807, when British Parliament issued the Orders of Council which authorized British captains to seize neutral American vessels who were engaged in trade with France and their allies.
Great Britain had another major problem during these times of war. They needed bodies to serve in the British Navy. That Navy required 125,000 men to effectively operate. Since 1793, Great Britain had been involved in six large-scale naval battles that produced almost 6,000 deaths. Add to this other factors such as illness and desertion, and you have a recipe for desperation. To meet this need, the British utilized a very controversial method called impressment, where anyone deemed to be a "British Subject" could be forced to serve in the Navy. The definition they used for "British Subject" was very broad, and included a notion called "indefeasible allegiance" in which if anyone at any time swore allegiance to the King, that loyalty could not be denounced.
The result of this was constant raids on American merchant vessels. Anyone who met the broad criteria listed above was forced into naval service, including many legitimate American citizens, even if that citizen possessed a US citizenship certificate. Yes, there were times that British deserters would flee to American merchant vessels and would be given forged US citizenship paperwork. However, this practice did result in thousands of legitimate US citizens being forced into service with the British Navy. Tensions over this practice resulted in the aforementioned trade embargo with British controlled Canada, and eventually grew to a declaration of war in 1812. Ironically enough, the Orders of Council had been rescinded the day before the formal declaration of war by the United States, but news of this development did not cross the Atlantic for several more weeks. The wheels of war were already in motion.
The reasons listed above are the official reasons the United States went to war with Britain. However, our friends to the north of the border will tell you there was another motive for declaring war. The United States wanted Canada. Canada at the time only had approximately 5,000 British regular troops to cover a vast area of land from the Maritimes to the Great Lakes. Great Britain could not afford to send more regular troops across the Atlantic due to the Napoleonic Wars, so Canada was left almost on its own.
Some in the Madison administration saw an opportunity to invade and control Canada with what they thought would be very little resistance. Thomas Jefferson stated that taking Canada would "be a mere matter of marching." The idea of manifest destiny was strong at this time, especially after the Louisiana Purchase. But some in the Madison administration defined that destiny as not just west, but north as well. They viewed this opportunity of (perceived) little resistance as a chance to purge the British off of the North American continent once and for all. Several theaters would emerge in the conflict, including the Champlain Valley.
Lake Champlain 1812
In contrast to the two previous major wars in the Champlain Valley (the Seven Years War and the Revolutionary War), the War of 1812 started off pretty quiet. Most of the action would take place to the west. However, what was apparent to the American cause was the importance of taking Montreal. The logistical supply line for the British and Canadian troops in the Great Lakes region fed through the St. Lawrence River Valley. If the Americans could capture Montreal and sever the supply line to the west, the US would have a major strategic victory. The year 1812 would see the first of many forgettable (at least on the American side) attempts to capture Montreal.
Henry Dearborn was a veteran of the Revolutionary War who commanded a light infantry unit that worked in conjunction with Morgan's Riflemen during the critical Battles of Saratoga. Dearborn would move into the Champlain Valley to begin preparations for an attack on Montreal. This was a theme early in the War of 1812 for the Americans. Too often, the military leadership consisted of Revolutionary War veterans who were well past their prime. In Dearborn's defense, the troops he would command from the military bases in Burlington and Plattsburgh were ill-prepared for an invasion. This was a theme for the US in 1812, as a standing army during peacetime was considered a threat to the republic. The troops they could muster would take time to train and drill. Dearborn was under orders for an offensive against Montreal, despite the lateness in the campaign season (it wasn't until November they crossed into Canada). Despite this, the leadership was desperate for some good news after the embarrassing surrender of Detroit and the loss at Queenstown.
The plan was to cross the border and attack a blockhouse in Lacolle Quebec. Zebulon Pike, a noted explorer before the war, and the namesake of Pike's Peak, would command a detachment to attack the blockhouse. They would ford the Lacolle River, while another detachment would cross at a different spot and join forces in capturing the outpost. In what can only be described as an embarrassing episode, the two detachments were confused on this cold and foggy morning, and began firing upon one another. Meanwhile the small detachment stationed at the blockhouse was able to escape. There were over a dozen casualties from the resulting friendly fire incident. Embarrassed and confused, the American force retreated back across the border to retire to winter quarters in Burlington and Plattsburgh. Just like that, the first attempt at capturing Montreal fizzled out very anticlimactically.
The one bright spot would be a new naval commander for the modest fleet on Lake Champlain. His name was Thomas MacDonough. Despite being only 28 years old, he was well qualified for this command. He had served with distinction in the Quasi-war with France and in the Barbary Wars, and was well respected by his peers. His first mission was to turn this modest fleet back into a fleet capable of ensuring American control of Lake Champlain. The fleet did not need to be impressive for this task, just operational, as the British fleet at Isle aux Noix was very modest as well.
Lake Champlain 1813
The winter of 1812-13 was a tough one for the troops in "winter quarters" at Burlington and Plattsburgh. The troops under Zebulon Pike would winter in a place known as Pike's Cantonment, a shallow part of the Saranac River that is easily crossed in shallow water. The location of this base was only recently rediscovered in 2011 and is near the Plattsburgh Airport. Several wooden structures were built in a hurried fashion to provide at least some level of shelter for the troops. It wasn't until almost December that construction would begin. Up to that point, the army had been sleeping in tents. It was a long and cold winter, as over 100 troops would die from illness and exposure. Things weren't much better in Burlington, where a similar ratio of deaths from illness and exposure took their toll.
By the time the lake ice had melted, the navy on Lake Champlain had a small but effective fleet. Three sloops, the USS President, USS Growler, and the USS Eagle (not to be confused with a different USS Eagle that would be built in 1814 at Vergennes), in addition to the two modest gunboats, was enough to ensure naval command of the lake. However, that control of the lake ended very abruptly and embarrassingly in June.
In April, the President was severally damaged as it ran aground near Plattsburgh. One of the gunboats capsized in a strong wind storm the next month. Then, in June, the two remaining sloops - the Growler and the Eagle - took the bait and pursued some British gunboats up the Richelieu River. This happened despite direct orders from MacDonough that Lt. Sidney Smith could not go into Canadian territory. After proceeding north to Ash Island, just south of Isle aux Noix, the two American vessels were in deep trouble. With a strong south wind and the strong current of the Richelieu River that flows to the north, the vessels were unable to turn around and head back to the safety of the Lake. The British awoke the next morning and realized the desperate situation the American vessels were in. They sent the gunboats down from Isle aux Noix, along with several hundred infantry, to attack the fleet. A fierce battle ensued, which resulted in the Growler being stuck in the shallow shore, and the sinking of the Eagle. All 112 crew were captured.
And just like that, a poor decision gifted the British naval control of Lake Champlain.
The two ships would be repaired at Isle aux Noix and renamed the HMS Broke and the HMS Shannon. MacDonough was furious, and now had to desperately outfit a number of vessels to give the British some level of resistance on the lake. The British, meanwhile, would take full advantage of that naval control while they had it.
For part two of this article, Click here.
Sources included at the end of part two.