Shipwrights in Vergennes Were Key to Battle of Lake Champlain-- Part 3:

In a mere 40 days, for example, they built a 143-foot-long, 26-gun frigate named the USS Saratoga, to serve as Macdonough's flagship.

To give Noah Brown and his men a head start on a second vessel, Macdonough purchased  the completed hull of a merchant steamship under construction in the yard.  Macdonough decided to convert it into a sailing vessel.  It was a safer  course of action as  steam power was notoriously  unreliable and never used in battle at the time.

Macdonough had Brown use the steamer's hull as part of a 120-foot sailing  schooner which was armed with 17 guns and christened the USS Ticonderoga.

The shipwrights also built  six 70-ton row galleys, each measuring about 75 feet in length.  These each were armed with two large cannons.

The galleys were named the Viper, Nettle, Allen, Borer, Burrow and Centipede (the latter perhaps because of its appearance when using the oars).

Once work was completed, Brown and his workers returned to New York.

Macdonough Monument in Plattsburgh, N.Y.-- Part 1

From HMdb  "THOMAS MACDONOUGH MEMORIAL MONUMENT"

Commemorates the American naval victory at the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814 and was designed by John Pope.  It commands the park which is opposite of the Plattsburgh City Hall, which was also designed by John Pope.

Inscribed at the base are Macdonough's four primary vessels:  Ticonderoga, Saratoga, Eagle and Preble.

The monument is 14 feet square at its base.  The bronze eagle at the top has a twenty-foot wingspan.  Pope also designed the National Archives and Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C..  He used Indiana  limestone for the Macdonough Monument and City Hall.  Pope's firm, established in New York City in 1900, consistently produced  dignified architecture of classical inspiration.

The formal dedication of the monument took place on August 18, 1926, "an ideal summer day."  Secretary of State Frank Kellogg spoke to the vast throng.  It was reported that an estimated 7,000 people attended the ceremony in front of City Hall.

--Brock-Perry

The Battle of Plattsburgh/Lake Champlain-- Part 3: John Russell Pope

John Russell Pope (1874-1937) designed the obelisk in downtown Plattsburgh as well as the 1917 City Hall across the street from it.

But, he is better known for designing the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.  The Jefferson memorial and City Hall share some stylistic similarities with the dome and columns.

The Plattsburgh obelisk was erected in 1926 and features the name of each of the major American ships in the battle on each side:  Eagle, Saratoga, Preble and Ticonderoga.  The names are accompanied by intricate reliefs and BOP-contemporary  uniforms.  (Not sure what BOP stands for.)

HOWEVER, in keeping with the current climate of destroying and defacing public monuments in the United States, the obelisk was recently vandalized on some of the reliefs.  The one for the Saratoga had anti-police sentiments painted on it, but since have been removed.

The eagle atop the monument has a twenty-foot wingspan is associated with local, college-town lore and nearly matches the length of the monument's base.

Even in Plattsburgh.  Hey, That Wasn't Even a Confederate Monument.  --Brock-Perry

Vergennes, Vermont, Involved in War of 1812

From the Jan. 3, 2014, Telegraph, AP "Vt. museum celebrating 200 years since War of 1812" by Wilson Ring, AP.

Two hundred years ago, the land around Otter Creek in what is now Vergennes, Vermont, had thousands of shipwrights from New York and elsewhere spending the winter and building an American fleet which would later in the year meet the British fleet on Lake Champlain in what is called the Battle of Plattsburgh.

In the winter of 1813-1814, they built this fleet seven miles upstream from Lake Champlain and just below the falls which helped power the Monkton Iron Works which provided metal fittings for the 26-gun USS Saratoga, 20-gun Eagle, 14-gun Ticonderoga and some smaller gunboats.

Meeting the British Next. --Brock-Perry

John Cassin-- Part 3: Pearl Harbor's USS Cassin

At the end on June, I was writing about John Cassin, commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia back in June 1813, when the British made an attempt to capture Norfolk and the Navy Yard.

I'd never heard of him before and there wasn't a lot of information available on Yahoo. I had heard of a destroyer named the Cassins at Pearl Harbor so wondered if theer was a connection.

I did find out that the Cassin destroyer at Pearl Harbor was not named for John Cassin, it was named the USS Stephen Cassin AND was named for John Cassin's son. Stephen Cassin (1783-1853), commanded the USS Ticonderoga at the Battle of Lake Champlain during the War of 1812.

An earlier destroyer than the Pearl Harbor one had also been named for him.

Small World. --Brock-Perry

A Follow Up on the USS Ticonderoga-- Part 2

Continued from Jan. 5th.

The Ticonderoga was originally a merchant steamer that was bought by the US Navy while it was under construction.  It was completed as a schooner and armed with twelve heavy cannons before being launched in May 1814.

A few months later, on September 11, 1814, it helped defeat the British at the Battle of Plattsburgh at Lake Champlain's northern end.  This stopped a British invasion of New York state.

After the war, it was used at Whitehall by East Bay.  Later, it became a hulk and sank until raised in the 1950s.

Other ships with the name Ticonderoga name included a World War II aircraft carrier.  Unfortunately, New York has no plans for the Ticonderoga's preservation.

The locations of other British and American Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sunken ships are known, but still underwater, making this the only really accessible one to the general public.

The Story of a Ship.  --Brock-Perry

A Follow Up On the USS Ticonderoga-- Part 1

From the Dec. 30, 2012, Fox News "War of 1812 naval relic still stored in New York shed" by AP.

Coming up in 2013 will be the 200th anniversary of the battle in which the USS Ticonderoga gained fame.  However, the hull is in serious danger as it sits outside in an open shed at the mercy of the elements. 

It needs to be moved into a climate-controlled facility and this will be way too much money for small town of Whitehall with its 3000 population, located 65 miles northeast of Albany, near the Vermont border.

Whitehall claims to be the birthplace of the U.S. Navy because in 1776, during the American Revolution, Benedict Arnold (yes, that Benedict) oversaw construction of a small fleet at what is now Whitehall.  In October of that year, the fleet sailed to Valcour Island, off Plattsburgh, and engaged a British squadron.  The Americans lost, but delayed the British invasion of New York until the following year.

It should be noted that several New England communities also lay claim to  the birthplace.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

Apparently, I Had Written About the USS Ticonderoga

When I typed in the Ticonderoga on the labels, it came up after a few letters.  So, I had written about it before.

There is some confusion, though, as the previous entry mentioned it as being a steamship (I didn't even know we had steamships back then). and that the USS Saratoga had been raised from the bottom of Lake Champlain.

Like I said, I will have to do more research.

Wiki, Here i Come.  --DaCoot

USS Ticonderoga Lies Falling Apart in a New York Shed

From the Dec. 30, 2012, Fox News.

Whitehall Village in New York State bills itself as the Birthplace of the U.S. Navy, but, they haven't done much to preserve one of the Navy's oldest warship relics, the hull of the schooner USS Ticonderoga, the first of many ships to have that name.

It was raised back in the 1950s, before much was known of sunken ship preservation. It is still stored in an open-sided shed on the grounds of the Skenesborough Museum. 

There is a movement to improve the ship's condition as we approach the 200th anniversary of its sinking.

I'll definitely be doing more research on it as I had never heard of it before.

Save the Ticonderoga.  --Brock-Perry

Vergennes, Vermont's Key Role in the War-- Part 2

Macdonough had spent the previous several months building his fleet at the Vergennes shipyard with Addison County labor and assistance from the Monkton Iron Works.  The fleet included the Ticonderoga, a steamboat converted into a 17-gun warship.  Another six ships were 75-footers, including one found at the bottom of Lake Champlain, his flagship, the USS Saratoga.

He also ordered the construction of the 120-foot long USS Eagle which was designed to carry twenty guns.  This warship took just 19 days to launch from the time the keel was laid.

For protection of his endeavor, Macdonough ordered cannons placed along Otter Creek to prevent a British attack.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry