Crossroads of a Continent Podcast

In this episode, we cover the criminally-overlooked Battle of Valcour Island.  This naval battle on Lake Champlain saved the American Revolution by delaying Guy Carleton and his British naval fleet long enough to retreat back into Canada for the winter of 1776-77.  Benedict Arnold was once again the hero, utilizing his rag-tag fleet against the most powerful navy in the world.  While the Battle of Valcour Island was an American defeat on paper, it was a strategic victory.  The brave defense of Lake Champlain prevented Carleton from joining Howe in New York City in what likely would have been a revolution-ending event.  The following year in 1777 would see a battle at Saratoga that changed the world.  If not for the Battle of Valcour Island, Saratoga would likely have never happened, and France may have not entered the war on the side of the Americans.  

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On the heels of the disastrous retreat from Canada, the sick and demoralized army licked its wounds at Crown Point.  There, they decided to concentrate forces to Fort Ticonderoga and build a new work on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain called Mount Independence.  The mount received its name after a copy of the Declaration of Independence was read aloud.  Meanwhile at Skenesborough (know known as Whitehall, NY) Benedict Arnold oversaw the construction of a naval fleet that would counter the invading British forces from Canada. 

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This is the last episode in the Revolutionary Road Trip series.  The road trip begins at the Bayley Hazen Military Road in Greensboro, Vermont.  Next up is the Vermont State Historical Society in Montpelier, followed by the site of the Royalton Raid.  On the I-91 corridor, the Old Constitution House in Windsor is an incredible site where Vermont's constitution was written, the first constitution in North America to ban slavery.  A quick trip over the state line to New Hampshire brings us to Fort at Number Four, a great example of the stockade forts common for the timeframe.  The last stop on the road trip is at Westminster, Vermont, the site of the famous "massacre" that some believe were the first shots of the Revolutionary War.

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This Revolutionary Road Trip covers southern Vermont and the northern Hudson Valley.  The road trip begins at the Bennington Battle Monument in Bennington, Vermont, followed by a trip to the Bennington Battle site in Hoosick Falls, NY.  Traveling west, the next stop is the Saratoga National Historical Site, where the world changed forever.  The American victory at the Battles of Saratoga secured the alliance with France, which was critical to American victory.  After driving through the site, two victory monuments and the Schuyler house are nearby.  Finishing the trip is a site not actually related to the Revolutionary War, but is an incredible spot of American history.  The Grant Cottage in Wilton is an amazing location that is a must see during any trip to Saratoga. 

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This Revolutionary Road Trip starts at Mount Independence in Orwell, Vermont.  The site of the least disturbed Revolutionary War site in existence.  Following the retreating American forces, the road trip then stops at the Hubbardton Battlefield, site of the "rear guard action that saved America".  We also visit Whitehall, New York, the self-proclaimed "Birthplace of the U.S. Navy" owing to Benedict Arnold's construction of the Battle of Valcour Island fleet that was built here (despite being an Army action).  From there, we go to the little known Battle of Fort Anne before going to Jane McCrea's gravesite.  The roadtrip finishes up at the head of Lake George.

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This episode is all about Ticonderoga, NY.  Starting at the "Crown Jewel" of historic sites in the Champlain Valley, Fort Ticonderoga.  Spend plenty of time here exploring the incredible history at the fort, including the "French Lines", where the Battle of Carillon took place in 1758.  This road trip also explores the La Chute River Falls, Mount Hope, and Mount Defiance.  We'll also explore the Mossy Point Boat Launch, where Henry Knox and his "Noble Train of Artillery" moved south, and the story of an African American Revolutionary veteran, who owned a farm on Black Point.  He was very successful, and even employed white sharecroppers to the astonishment of the southern slave owners Thomas Jefferson and James Madison when they visited the area after the war.

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This is the third installment of the Revolutionary Road Trip series.  The road trip begins in Vergennes, Vermont and follows the historic shores of Lake Champlain, including the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Arnold's Bay, and Chimney Point, Vermont.  The trip concludes at the Crown Point Historical Site, where the remnants of two forts are in display, the French Fort St. Frederic and His Majesty's Fort at Crown Point.

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This is the second installment of the Revolutionary Road Trip series.  This road trip begins in Willsboro, New York and ends in Ile aux Noix in Quebec, Canada.  Don't forget your passport!  Sites include the Battle of Valcour Island, a refugee tract for French Canadians who fought with the American forces throughout the conflict, and the resting place of hundreds of American Patriots who never returned home.

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The first in a series of Revolutionary Road Trips, designed to be day trips with plenty of time to explore and enjoy the sites.  This road trip covers northern Vermont, starting in Burlington, going through the Champlain Islands to Isle la Motte, and eventually to St. Albans and Georgia.  Sites include Ethan Allen's gravesite and home, a rock made famous for mistaken identity, the grave of a participant in the Boston Tea Party, and a former slave who was given his freedom after serving on the side of the American cause.

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In this episode, we discuss Benedict Arnold's harrowing march through the wilderness of Maine to Quebec, and the incredible hardships that earned Arnold the nickname of "The Hannibal of North America".  We also discuss the Battle of Quebec and the disappointing result for American forces.  In addition, we will discuss Benjamin Franklin's visit to the Champlain Valley.  Plus, we will discuss the horrific 10 days of misery the Americans faced at Ile aux Noix, a small island in Canada on the Richelieu River just 12 miles north of the border from New York and Vermont, and why it was a "living hell" of sorrow and suffering.

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