Dig funded to seek shipyard location

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August 23, 2011

JEFF MEYERS Press-Republican The Press Republican Tue Aug 23, 2011, 05:33 PM EDT

VERGENNES, Vt. — Archeologists will soon search for evidence to identify exact location of the shipyard where Thomas Macdonough built the fleet that would eventually fight the British during the Battle of Plattsburgh.

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum officials recently received word that the National Park Service has awarded the facility a grant of $23,985 from its American Battlefield Protection Program to undertake an archeological survey to determine the precise location and established boundaries for Macdonough's War or 1812 Shipyard below the falls in Vergennes, Vt.

"This is very exciting," said Joanne Dennis, an archeologist for the Maritime Museum, who will oversee the project. "It's something we've been thinking about for many years. With the bicentennial of the War of 1812 approaching, this is an ideal time."

When Macdonough came to the Champlain Valley in 1813, he was ordered to build a fleet to defend Lake Champlain. He spent the winter of 1813-14 at Vergennes to complete the project.

"He chose this location for a couple of reasons," Dennis said. "First, it's a very protected location. The British could not easily get to it because it is quite a ways up Otter Creek.

"Also, at the base of the falls, there was already an ironworks in operation, and there was a lot of lumber available in the area. The resources needed to build these vessels were already there."

LAND UNDEVELOPED

Based on historical records, officials believe the shipyard was below the falls, but there has never been any concrete evidence to prove its exact location, Dennis noted.

"We'll go out and do some preliminary testing," Dennis said of the project, which is set to begin in October. "We'll dig a series of test pits to look for evidence of the shipyard. There's likely to be a lot of metal in the area that will help us prove the shipyard's precise location."

Researchers may have been granted a break in that no development has occurred on the land, which is on state property and looks pretty much the way it did 200 years ago.

"Since this land is important to the Battle of Plattsburgh, our ultimate goal is to identify and then protect it," Dennis said. "When we are confident that we can say where it is, we can go into a preservation-planning phase."

VERY FIRST STEP

Once identified, the land can be officially protected from activities that could potentially destroy its historic importance. It can also be potentially nominated for placement on the National List of Historic Places, which could translate into more funding for research and protection.

"This is really just a very first step in figuring out what to do with the site," Dennis said.

Once completed, Macdonough's fleet sailed up Otter Creek and eventually made its way to Plattsburgh, where the significant naval battle on Cumberland Bay took place on Sept. 11, 1814. The much smaller American fleet was able to defeat the invading British armada, which many historians believe was a major turning point in America's eventual victory in the War of 1812.

The Vergennes grant is one of 25 National Park Service grants totaling $1.2 million awarded to preserve and protect significant battle sites from all wars fought on American soil. Since 1996, more than $12 million has been awarded through the American Battlefield Protection Program.

Related activity took place in Plattsburgh this summer, when researchers uncovered evidence identifying the location of Pike's Cantonment, a winter encampment of American soldiers during the War of 1812.

Email Jeff Meyers at: jmeyers@pressrepublican.com