Battle of Valcour Island

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battle of the American Revolutionary War naval battle

The Battle of Valcour Island was a 1776 naval engagement on Lake Champlain during the American Revolutionary War, where a small American fleet under Benedict Arnold delayed a larger British force and helped prevent an immediate British advance from Canada.

Aliases (1)

Battle of Valcour Bay ×1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	battle of the American Revolutionary War → naval battle →
alsoKnownAs	Battle of Valcour Bay →
belligerent	Great Britain → Thirteen Colonies →
casualties	heavy American losses in ships → lighter British casualties → significant American killed, wounded, and captured →
combatant	British Army detachments → Continental Army detachments → Continental Navy → Provincial Marine → Royal Navy →
commander	Benedict Arnold → Guy Carleton → Thomas Pringle →
conflict	American Revolutionary War →
country	British America →
date	October 11, 1776 →
followedBy	British retreat to Canada for winter 1776–1777 → Saratoga campaign →
historicalSignificance	demonstrated importance of control of Lake Champlain in the war → example of a delaying action by an inferior naval force → one of the first naval engagements of the American Revolutionary War →
location	Lake Champlain → near Valcour Island, New York →
notableCommander	Benedict Arnold as American naval commander →
outcome	most of the American fleet destroyed or captured → some American vessels escaped southward at night →
partOf	Northern Theater of the American Revolutionary War →
precededBy	American invasion of Canada (1775–1776) →
result	American strategic success → British tactical victory →
shipTypeUsed	galleys → gondolas → row galleys → schooners →
strategicEffect	contributed to British decision to withdraw to Canada for the winter of 1776–1777 → delayed British advance from Canada → helped set conditions for the American victory at the Saratoga campaign in 1777 →
strength	American fleet of about 15 vessels → British fleet of about 25–30 vessels → British numerical superiority in guns and tonnage →
tactics	American fleet positioned in narrow channel between Valcour Island and the New York shore → American nighttime withdrawal after initial engagement → Benedict Arnold used geography to offset British superiority →
theater	Lake Champlain campaign →
year	1776 →

Referenced by (3)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Battle of Valcour Island ("Battle of Valcour Bay") →	alsoKnownAs
Benedict Arnold →	battle
Atlantic campaign of the American Revolutionary War →	hasPart