Tag: Lake Champlain

The “Philadelphia”: Relic of the Battle of Valcour Island

This gunboat, named the “Philadelphia”, is the oldest intact American warship. She is now on display at the Smithsonian, along with the British cannonball that sent her to the bottom of Lake Champlain during the Battle of Valcour Island in October 1776.

In the Smithsonian is a remarkably intact gunboat from the Revolutionary War, named the Philadelphia. The museum has an online 3D tour that tells some of her history and lets you see more of what she was like. She was recovered from the bottom of Lake Champlain in 1935, where she had lain for over 150 years after being sunk by a British fleet during an important — though mostly forgotten — battle.

Continue reading “The “Philadelphia”: Relic of the Battle of Valcour Island”