Marker at the waters edge.
Photo by the author.
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At the
beginning of the War of 1812, the American navy had no ships to speak of
on Lake Champlain. There were two vessels-the sloops Hunter and Bulldog.
Tied up in shallow water, neither vessel was fit for any kind of service.
Yet, young Lieut. Thomas
Macdonough had his orders. He was to build a Navy- at least one ship, and
three or four gunboats, or 15 gunboats, as he saw fit. Macdonough had been
told: "The object is to leave no doubt of your commanding the lake
and the waters connected, and that in due time."
The place he
chose to build this fleet was at the Falls in Vergennes, VT.
Situated some 7 miles upstream from the lake, Vergennes is Vermont's only
inland port. It may at first seem a curious choice. Why not
Burlington, Shelburne,
Plattsburgh or
Essex? All were established shipbuilding towns.
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Macdonough
chose Vergennes because the other towns were too exposed to attack.
He knew the British were feverishly building their fleet just up the
Richelieu at
Isle Aux Noix. To build the fleet on the open lake was just
too risky. Furthermore, Vergennes was a thriving industrial center in
1814. Situated as it was on the only navigable river in the state, the
town boasted everything the young Naval officer needed- easy access to raw
materials, eight forges, a blast furnace, rolling mill, wire factory,
gristmill, sawmill and fulling mill.
Here
at the base of the falls, the American Navy on Lake Champlain was built.
Continued
HERE.
(Clicking on the thumbnails will take
you to a full size photo.)
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