 Philadelphia on display at theNational Museum of American History | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Philadelphia |
| Namesake | City ofPhiladelphia |
| Builder | Hermanus Schuyler |
| Laid down | July 1776 |
| Launched | August 1776 |
| Completed | August 1776 |
| Fate |
|
| Status | On public display |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Gundalow |
| Displacement | 29long tons (29 t) |
| Length | 53 ft (16 m) |
| Beam | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Draft | 2 ft (0.61 m) |
| Depth | 4 ft (1.2 m) |
| Complement | 45 |
| Armament |
|
Philadelphia (Gundalow) | |
 Model ofPhiladelphia as built | |
  | |
| Location | 14th St. and Constitution Ave., NW Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′28.4″N77°1′46.1″W / 38.891222°N 77.029472°W /38.891222; -77.029472 |
| Built | 1776 |
| Architect | Hermanus Schuyler |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000852[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 15 October 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL | 20 January 1961[2] |
USSPhiladelphia was a 3-gungundalow of theContinental Navy. She was constructed from July–August 1776 for service during theAmerican Revolutionary War. Manned byContinental Army soldiers, she was part of a fleet under the command of GeneralBenedict Arnold that fought against the BritishRoyal Navy in theBattle of Valcour Island onLake Champlain.Philadelphia was sunk during the battle on 11 October 1776.
In 1935, amateur military marine archaeologistLorenzo Hagglund located her remains standing upright at the bottom of Lake Champlain. The wreck was raised to the surface andsalvaged. In 1961 she was bequeathed to theSmithsonian Institution.Philadelphia and associated artifacts are now part of the permanent collection of theNational Museum of American History, inWashington, D.C., where curatorPhilip K. Lundeberg was responsible for arranging her initial display. The vessel is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places and is aNational Historic Landmark.
TheAmerican Revolutionary War, which began in April 1775 with theBattles of Lexington and Concord, widened in September 1775 when the Continental Army embarked onan invasion of the BritishProvince of Quebec. The province was viewed by theSecond Continental Congress as a potential avenue for British forces to attack and divide the rebellious colonies and was lightly defended. The invasion reached a peak on 31 December 1775, when theBattle of Quebec ended in disaster for the Americans. In the spring of 1776, 10,000 British and German troops arrived in Quebec, and GeneralGuy Carleton, the provincial governor, drove the Continental Army out of Quebec and back toFort Ticonderoga.[3]
Carleton then launched his own offensive intended to reach theHudson River, whose navigable length begins south of Lake Champlain and extends down toNew York City. Control of the upper Hudson would enable the British to link their forces in Quebec with those in New York, recentlycaptured in the New York campaign by Major GeneralWilliam Howe. This strategy would separate the American colonies ofNew England from those farther south and potentially quash the rebellion.[4]
Following the American retreat from Quebec, the only ships on the lake were those of a small fleet of lightly armed ships that Benedict Arnold had assembled following thecapture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775. This fleet, even if it had been in British hands, was too small to transport the large British army to Fort Ticonderoga.[5]
During their retreat from Quebec, the Americans carefully took or destroyed all ships on Lake Champlain that might prove useful to the British. When Arnold and his troops, making up the rear guard of the army, abandonedFort Saint-Jean, they burned or sank all the boats that they could not use and set fire to the sawmill and the fort. These actions effectively denied the British any hope of immediately moving onto the lake.[6]
The two sides set about building fleets: the British at Saint-Jean and the Americans at the other end of the lake in Skenesborough (present-dayWhitehall, New York). While planning Quebec's general defenses in 1775, General Carleton had anticipated the problem of transportation on Lake Champlain, and had requested the provisioning of prefabricated ships from Europe. Because of this planning, the British were able to assemble a fleet that significantly overpowered that of the Americans.[7][8][9] In total, the British fleet (25 armed vessels) had more firepower than the Americans' 15 vessels, with more than 80 guns outweighing the 74 smaller American guns.[10][11]
The American shipbuilding effort at Skenesborough was overseen by Hermanus Schuyler (possibly a relation of Major GeneralPhilip Schuyler), and the outfitting was managed by military engineerJeduthan Baldwin. Schuyler began work in April to produce boats larger and more suitable for combat than the small shallow-draft boats known asbateaux that were used for transport on the lake. The process eventually came to involve GeneralBenedict Arnold, who was an experienced ship's captain, andDavid Waterbury, a Connecticut militia leader with maritime experience. Major GeneralHoratio Gates, in charge of the overall defense of the lake, eventually asked Arnold to take more responsibility in the shipbuilding effort because "I am intirely uninform'd as to Marine Affairs."[12]
Philadelphia was one of eightgundalows (also calledgondolas in contemporary documents) constructed at Skenesboro. She was laid down early in July 1776 and launched in mid-August. Constructed primarily of oak, she was larger than a bateaux at 53 ft 2 in (16.21 m) long with abeam of 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m). She featured a single 36-foot (10.97 m) mast withsquare-rigged sail andtopsail, and mounted three cannons, one 12-pounder (5.4 kg) facing forward and two 9 pounders (4.1 kg) facing port and starboard respectively. She also had mounting points for up to eightswivel guns, and was estimated by the Smithsonian todisplace 29long tons (32.5short tons; 29.5 t). Late in her construction General Arnold ordered that her aft deck be raised to accommodate amortar. After the mortar exploded during a test firing at Fort Ticonderoga, this modification was undone. To maintain equilibrium, ballast rocks were probably used in the aft portion of the boat once the mortar was removed. For the relative comfort of its crew, the boat had a canvas awning aft of the mast, andfascines were probably lashed to its sides to diffuse musket fire aimed at the boat.[13]
Philadelphia was placed in service under Captain Benjamin Rue of Philadelphia shortly after completion. Late in August, General Arnold assembled his fleet and cruised provocatively on the northern stretches of Lake Champlain. On 23 September, in anticipation of the larger British fleet's arrival, he stationed his ships inValcour Bay, the strait separating the western shore of the lake fromValcour Island. When thetwo forces clashed on 11 October,Philadelphia was under the command of Benjamin Rue,[14] and was part of the formation Arnold established in the Valcour strait. Early in the six-hour fight the 12-gunschoonerRoyal Savage ran aground and was burned.[15][16] Toward dusk the British guns holedPhiladelphia with a 24-pound (10.9 kg) shot and she soon sank.[17] Darkness ended the action, and Arnold was able to slip away during the night.[18] Many of his remaining ships were burned, sunk, or captured over the next two days as the British pursued him toward Ticonderoga.[19]
In sea trials of the replicaPhiladelphia II, theLake Champlain Maritime Museum determined that the boat was not particularly maneuverable: contemporary accounts of sailing the vessels include reports that the gondolas skipped across the waters of the lake, blown by the wind, and needed safe shelter when winds were high.[20]
In the 1930s, Lorenzo Hagglund, a veteran ofWorld War I and a history buff, began searching the strait for remains of the battle. In 1932 he found the remains ofRoyal Savage's hull, which he successfully raised in 1935.[21][22] Hagglund followed up his discovery ofRoyal Savage with the discovery ofPhiladelphia's remains in 1935, sitting upright on the lake bottom.[23] He raised her that year; in addition to the guns and hull, hundreds of other items were recovered from the vessel. These relics included shot, cooking utensils, tools, buttons, buckles and human bones.[24]
Philadelphia was exhibited at various locations on Lake Champlain and the Hudson River before becoming a long-term display atExeter, New York.[24] Lorenzo Hagglund spent years searching for other ships in Arnold's fleet, and raised another gunboat in 1952. Funding for a structure to house that find andRoyal Savage fell through, and that boat's remains were eventually ruined through neglect and looting.[25]
In the wake of that failure Hagglund approached theSmithsonian Institution to preservePhiladelphia, and in 1961, bequeathed her and associated artifacts to that organization.[25] According to theWhitehall Times, the remains had suffered more damage during their time above water than below.[26] The boat and artifacts are now part of the permanent collection of theNational Museum of American History, inWashington, D.C.[24] She is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places and is designated aNational Historic Landmark.[2][1] She remains in precarious condition: as of 2001 the wood and iron fittings continued to show signs of deterioration despite attempts to stabilize them.[27]
In 1997, another pristine underwater wreck was located during a survey by theLake Champlain Maritime Museum. Two years later, it was conclusively identified as thegundalowSpitfire.[28]
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