Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty

by Jack Kelly

Overview

The wild and suspenseful story of one of the most crucial and least known campaigns of the Revolutionary War

"Vividly written... In novelistic prose, Kelly conveys the starkness of close-quarter naval warfare." —The Wall Street Journal

"Few know of the valor and courage of Benedict Arnold... With such a dramatic main character, the story of the Battle of Valcour is finally seen as one of the most exciting and important of the American Revolution." —Tom Clavin author of Dodge City

During the summer of 1776, a British incursion from Canada loomed. In response, citizen soldiers of the newly independent nation mounted a heroic defense. Patriots constructed a small fleet of gunboats on Lake Champlain in northern New York and confronted the Royal Navy in a desperate three-day battle near Valcour Island. Their effort surprised the arrogant British and forced the enemy to call off their invasion.

Jack Kelly's Valcour is a story of people. The northern campaign of 1776 was led by the underrated general Philip Schuyler (Hamilton's father-in-law), the ambitious former British officer Horatio Gates, and the notorious Benedict Arnold. An experienced sea captain, Arnold devised a brilliant strategy that confounded his slow-witted opponents.

America’s independence hung in the balance during 1776. Patriots endured one defeat after another. But two events turned the tide: Washington’s bold attack on Trenton and the equally audacious fight at Valcour Island. Together, they stunned the enemy and helped preserve the cause of liberty.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250247117
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/06/2021
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	475,819
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jack Kelly is an award-winning author and historian. His books include Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence, which received the DAR History Medal. He is also the author of The Edge of Anarchy, Heaven’s Ditch, and Gunpowder and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow in Nonfiction Literature. Kelly has appeared on The History Channel, National Public Radio, and C-Span. He lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

Table of Contents

Maps xi

Part 1

1 The Last Man 3

2 Superiority on the Lakes 10

3 The Great Warpath 22

4 Canada 29

5 Not an Army 35

6 Straining Every Nerve 47

7 Sometimes I Dream 56

8 Fired on an Officer 63

9 Life and Spirit 68

10 Honor May Require 78

11 Princes of the Wilderness 84

12 Setting Sail 93

13 Dare Cross the Lake 101

14 A Considerable Naval Force 111

15 Prepared for the Enemy 122

16 No Landlubbers 133

17 A Noble Sight 139

Part 2

18 Make Ready 147

19 Engage 156

20 The Battle Was Very Hot 166

21 With Great Fury 178

22 Extreme Obscurity 189

23 In Shattered Condition 201

24 The End of the Fight 208

25 Want of Time 217

26 Zeal for the Service 227

27 Active, Judicious and Brave 240

28 The Cause of Liberty 246

Afterword 253

Acknowledgments 255

Appendix: The American Champlain Fleet 257

Source Notes 263

Bibliography 273

Index 279

Editorial Reviews

01/11/2021

Historian Kelly (Band of Giants) spotlights an overlooked campaign of the American Revolution in this richly detailed account. In the summer and fall of 1776, British forces in Canada attempted to invade the colonies by way of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. One of the leaders of the American defense was Benedict Arnold, whose capture of Fort Ticonderoga had earned him the nickname “America’s Hannibal.” In October 1776, Arnold lured British ships into battle at Valcour Island in Lake Champlain. Kelly dramatically recounts the “boiling free-for-all” between American ships and British gunboats before Arnold made a fighting retreat southward and eventually escaped to Fort Ticonderoga. British commanders decided not to test the fort’s vaunted defenses, and instead returned north to Canada as winter approached. The British returned in 1777 with greater initial success, but met defeat at the Battle of Saratoga, “the last time Benedict Arnold would fight for the American cause.” Kelly delves deeply into the logistics of warfare, including shipbuilding and combatting smallpox, and gathers stirring accounts of heroism on both sides of the conflict. Readers will be intrigued by this evocative portrait of one of America’s greatest traitors at the height of his glory. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"A delight to read. It will be of interest to general readers as well as to those devoted to war histories and biographies." —Sea History

“Draws out the uncertainty of the contest until the reader is waiting as anxiously as Arnold and his men for the battle finally to be joined. Highly readable” —Military History Quarterly

“Engaging...successfully puts the reader in the shoes of the men who fought at Valcour.” —Journal of the American Revolution

"Kelly adeptly describes the lake battles and offers plenty of insight into the principal combatants." —Booklist

"Stirring accounts of heroism on both sides of the conflict." —Publisher's Weekly

"A boon for fans of Revolutionary-era military history." —Kirkus

"Jack Kelly’s latest history has done [much] for Benedict Arnold’s reputation...one can not help but admire Arnold’s energy and determination." —What Would The Founders Think

"This is historical writing at its best." —Terry Golway, author of Washington's General

“Vivid… Kelly does us all a service by giving this crucial but oft-overlooked story a just telling.” —James C. Rentfrow, Ph.D., author of Home Squadron

"Must reading for everyone interested in how a critical military campaign and pivotal battle on Lake Champlain set the stage for American victory in the War for Independence. Beautifully written, Valcour deserves and will command a wide readership. Highly recommended." —James Kirby Martin, author of the award-winning Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero

From the Publisher

2021-01-07
An expert chronicle of an early Revolutionary War operation that deserves to be better known.

Journalist and historian Kelly reminds readers that the summer of 1776 saw the end of the rebels’ first major campaign, and it wasn’t led by Washington, who was then engaged in his disastrous Long Island battles. A year earlier, a two-pronged American invasion of Canada had captured Montreal before disintegrating in the face of resistance, disease, and brutal winter weather. In June 1776, the miserable soldiers retreated to the Lake Champlain area. Few doubted that the victorious Canadians, reinforced by newly arrived British regiments, would follow. Breaking through the lake’s defenses, including the decrepit Fort Ticonderoga, would open the road to the Hudson River and the heart of the Colonies. The author describes four months of frantic activity around the lake, culminating in the October 1776 naval battle off Valcour Island in Lake Champlain. Led by Benedict Arnold, who “exerted his authority by means of a steely will, a profane tongue, and a hot temper,” the inferior American forces were overwhelmed after a brutal battle. However, the onset of winter persuaded the British to withdraw and return the following spring, when they met disaster in the form of a reinforced opponent at the Battle of Saratoga. Most historians agree that Valcour was a decisive campaign and that the three generals responsible (Philip Schuyler, Horatio Gates, and Arnold) performed well—even though all ended the war in disgrace. As in Band of Giants (2014), Kelly demonstrates his firm grasp of the period’s history and characters. Not content with biographies of the major figures and a fine account of the preparations and battle, he ably describes the military culture of the times, the self-defeating politics of the Continental Congress, the design and operation of the various ships, and the tactical problems of fighting on lakes versus the ocean.

A boon for fans of Revolutionary-era military history.

Kirkus Reviews