A History Of Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the United States, being exceeded in size by the Great Lakes, and by Lake Okechobee, in Florida, which is so shallow that in part it is more marsh than lake. Judged by the standard of historic interest, Lake Champlain has no rival in all the continent of North America; and in natural scenic beauty, it ranks with the best the world affords. Lying in the valley between the Green and the Adirondack Mountain ranges, this lake is 118 miles long, measured from Whitehall, N. Y. to the northern extremity of Missisquoi Bay, which extends a few miles into Canada. Its greatest width is 12 1/8 miles from the mouth of the Ausable River, on the west to the head of Malletts Bay, on the east, the average width being 4 1/8 miles. Its greatest depth is 399 feet, off Essex, N. Y. Lake George flows into Lake Champlain. The more important tributary streams from Vermont include the Missisquoi, Lamoille, Winooski, Otter Creek, and Poultney; and from New York, the Big and Little Chazy, the Saranac, the Salmon, the Boquet, and the Great and Little Ausable. The deep channel of the lake forms the boundary line between the States of Vermont and New York, the greater part of the area lying within the limits of the Green Mountain State. Its waters are discharged northward through the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence, and thence into the Atlantic Ocean, thus forming an exception to the direction in which the waters of most of the lakes and rivers of the United States flow, which is toward the south. The Champlain Canal, between Whitehall and Waterford, connects the lake with the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, while the Chambly Canal, between St. Johns and Chambly, Que., makes navigation possible around the rapids of the Richelieu to the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The larger islands in Lake Champlain include Grand Isle, North Hero, Isle La Motte, Valcour, Schuylers, Juniper, and the Four Brothers, called by the French the Islands of the Four Winds. Lake Champlain has been called the Lake of the Iroquois; Peta-wa-bouque, meaning alternate land and water; Peta-pargow, or the great water; and Lake Corlaer, after Arendt Van Corlaer, a popular New York official, who was drowned in its waters in 1667.

Crockett, Walter Hill, A History Of Lake Champlain; the record of three centuries, 1609-1909. Published 1909 at Burlington, Vt., H. J. Shanley & Co.

  • The Discovery Of Lake Champlain
    • Dimensions of the lake Islands and tributary rivers
    • The geological history
    • Champlain's preparations
    • Deserted by part of his force
    • The journey in the Richelieu River
    • Champlain enters the lake
    • A period concerning which little is told
    • Possible stopping places
    • Mountains "covered with snow"
    • The battle with the Iroquois
    • Comparatively early date of the discovery
    • Champlain's career and services.
  • The French Occupation
    • The Jesuit missions
    • Building of the Richelieu forts
    • Construction of Fort St. Anne
    • Sieur de Courcelles ordered to prepare an expedition against the Indians
    • A foray into the Mohawk country
    • Sufferings on the return trip
    • Marquis de Tracy sent to Quebec
    • He assembles troops at Isle La Motte for an expedition against the Indians
    • Mohawk villages destroyed and peace secured
    • An Indian legend related by a Jesuit priest
    • Abandonment of Fort St. Anne
    • Excavations made.
  • First Attempts At Settlement
    • War between France and Great Britain
    • Plans for a Canadian invasion abandoned
    • Raids by John and Philip Schuyler
    • Building of Fort St. Frederic
    • The seignioral grants on Lake Champlain
    • Scotch colony project a failure
    • Peter Kalm's visit to Fort St. Frederic
    • A description of the fortress
    • Condition of the soldiers and their manner of living
    • The trip to St. Johns
    • Settlement at Chimney Point.
  • The Struggle For A Continent
    • Events leading up to the French and Indian War
    • Arrival of troops from Great Britain and France
    • Dieskau pushes southward, looking for Johnson's force
    • Col. Williams killed in an ambuscade
    • The French attack the British camp at Lake George
    • Dieskau defeated, wounded, and captured
    • The French troops retreat to Ticonderoga
    • Fort Carillon built
    • Rigaud repulsed at Fort William
    • Henry Montcalm besieges, captures, and destroys the fort.
  • The French Abandon The Lake
    • Armies assembled by Abercrombie and Montcalm
    • Picturesque British advance down Lake George
    • Lord Howe killed in a skirmish
    • Abercrombie makes repeated assaults upon the strong French defences at Ticonderoga, and being repulsed retreats in haste
    • Vandreuil jealous of Montcalm
    • Border warfare in the valley
    • The French abandon the Champlain fortresses and retreat to Canada
    • Amherst builds a stronghold at Crown Point
    • Naval affairs on the lake
    • Forays by Maj. Robert Rogers
    • British take Isle aux Noix and Canada.
  • English Settlements Begun
    • English grants in the Champlain valley
    • First permanent settlement made by Philip Skene at Skenesborough
    • French and Indian settlement at Swanton falls
    • William Gilliland establishes a colony at Westport
    • Early occupation of Shelburne
    • Pioneer experiences in Addison
    • Controversies between Green Mountain Boys and Yorkers
    • Colchester founded by the Aliens
    • Col. Skene's proposal for a new royal colony.
  • The Capture Of Ticonderoga
    • John Brown sent to Canada by Massachusetts
    • Connecticut men raise funds for capture of Ticonderoga and send out nucleus of expedition
    • Ethan Allen agrees to lead the party
    • Gershom Beach summons the Green Mountain Boys
    • Benedict Arnold arrives at Castleton and is refused the command
    • The rendezvous at Hand's Cove
    • The capture of the fortress, also Crown Point and Skenesborough
    • The spoils of war
    • Importance of the victory
    • Expeditions by Allen and Arnold to St. Johns.
  • The Allen-Arnold Controversy
    • Proof of the fact that Allen was in sole command of the Ticonderoga expedition
    • Arnold renews his efforts to secure control
    • Differences between the two leaders result in a critical situation
    • Allen apparently relinquishes authority
    • Massachusetts Congress sends committee to investigate affairs at Ticonderoga
    • Col. Hinman appointed commandant
    • Arnold refuses to turn over the command
    • Mutiny reported among his men
    • Arnold resigns
    • An estimate of his services
    • Congress proposes to abandon the Champlain posts
    • A storm of protest and indignation aroused throughout New England
    • Decision to retain the lake posts
    • Knox removes captured cannon to Boston
    • His meeting with Andre.
  • The Invasion Of Canada
    • Ethan Allen urges an immediate advance upon Canada
    • Col. Hinman's incompetence
    • Schuyler arrives at Ticonderoga and begins construction of boats
    • Troops assembled for a Canadian invasion
    • Capt. Remember Baker killed on a scouting expedition
    • Gen. Montgomery begins his advance northward
    • Ethan Allen captured by the British
    • St. Johns and Montreal taken
    • Montgomery's death and the repulse at Quebec
    • Benjamin Franklin and Congressional committee visit the army in Canada
    • Epidemic of smallpox
    • Retreat of the American army
    • Suffering and sickness at camps at Crown Point and Ticonderoga.
  • Arnold's Naval Battle
    • Arnold assigned to the task of building and commanding the fleet on Lake Champlain
    • British preparations at St. Johns
    • Arnold sails northward looking for the enemy
    • Attacked near Valcour Island Oct. 11 by the British fleet
    • A desperate battle fought
    • Arnold steals away with his crippled ships under cover of darkness
    • Overtaken near the mouth of the Boquet River, Oct. 13, a running fight follows
    • Arnold obliged to beach and burn his ships on the Panton shore
    • The losses
    • British occupy Crown Point, make a demonstration before Ticonderoga, and return to Canada for the winter
    • Importance of Arnold's engagement to the American cause.
  • Burgoyne's Invasion
    • Gen. St. Clair assigned to command at Ticonderoga
    • The system of fortifications
    • The garrison entirely inadequate
    • Burgoyne supersedes Carleton as British commander
    • With his army he leaves St. Johns
    • A war feast given to the Indians
    • The advance upon Ticonderoga
    • Burgoyne's bombastic proclamation
    • Mount Defiance occupied and St. Clair compelled to evacuate the fortress
    • The retreat by water to Skenesborough
    • The army abandons the post which is occupied by Fraser
    • American defeat at Hubbardton
    • Completeness of Burgoyne's victory and its effects
    • The march through the wilderness to Fort Edward
    • Capt. Ebenezer Allen recaptures Mount Defiance
    • Unsuccessful attempt to recover Ticonderoga
    • Burgoyne's surrender and the abandonment of most of the Champlain posts
    • Effect of the British invasion.
  • The Coming Of Peace
    • The battle at Pierson's farm, in Shelburne
    • Gates plans another Canadian invasion, which fails to materialize
    • Raids in the Champlain valley in 1778 and 1779
    • British demonstrations on the lake in 1780 and 1781
    • Posts retained by the British after the close of the war
    • Washington's visit to the lake
    • Rapid settlement of the valley
    • Founding of Plattsburgh and other settlements on the west side of the lake
    • Settlements on the east side
    • Town of Burlington organized
    • The formation of Vermont counties
    • Remarkable increase of population in twenty-five years following the close of the Revolutionary War
    • Smuggling operations.
  • The Beginning Of The War Of 1812
    • The assembling of troops at Burlington and Plattsburgh
    • Lieut. Thomas Macdonough takes command of naval operations on the lake
    • Lieut. Sidney Smith defeated at Isle aux Noix and the Growler and the Eagle captured
    • Gen. Wade Hampton takes command of the army at Burlington
    • British raid on Plattsburgh
    • Demonstration off Burlington
    • Public property burned at Swanton
    • Hampton's unsuccessful Canadian invasion
    • Col. Isaac Clark's successful raid on Philipsburg
    • Gov. Chittenden attempts to recall Vermont troops from Plattsburgh
    • The building of Macdonough's fleet
    • British repulsed at Fort Cassin
    • Comparison between cost of Macdonough's fleet and modern warships.
  • The Battle Of Plattsburgh
    • Gen. Izard ordered away from Plattsburgh
    • Gen. Macomb concentrates regulars and militia there
    • Approach of the British army
    • The American defences
    • Skirmish lines driven in
    • British fleet advances to Isle La Motte
    • Macdonough's naval strength
    • The superiority of the British squadron
    • Macdonough's careful preparations
    • Opening of naval battle of Plattsburgh Sept. 11, 1814
    • A desperately contested engagement
    • Capt. Downie killed
    • British fleet defeated and captured
    • The losses
    • Retreat of the British army
    • Honors for the victors
    • Importance of Macdonough's triumph
    • Close of the war
    • Building of Fort Montgomery
    • Treaty regarding naval strength on the lake.
  • Navigation On Lake Champlain
    • The beginnings of lake navigation
    • The building and operation of sailing craft
    • Early navigators
    • Building of first Vermont, the world's second successful steamboat
    • Early days of steam navigation
    • Burning of the Phoenix
    • Construction of the Champlain Canal and navigation through that waterway
    • Chambly Canal constructed
    • Development of freight business
    • Champlain Transportation Company organized
    • Early days of steamboat traffic
    • Charles Dickens on Capt. Richard Sherman
    • The element of railroad competition
    • Steamboats of later days
    • A list of steamboat captains.
  • Some Lake Champlain Incidents
    • Floods of 1811 and 1830
    • Gen. Montgomery's body brought from Quebec
    • John Brown's body brought home
    • Presidential visits
    • Vice President Theodore Roosevelt at Isle La Motte when President McKinley was shot at Buffalo
    • The lumber and iron industries
    • Establishment of military posts at Plattsburgh and Fort Ethan Allen
    • Names of some famous persons associated with Lake Champlain history.

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French Settlements in Champlain Valley, the Seigneur Grants

Although few actual settlements were made by the French in the Champlain valley, there were many grants by the French crown, similar to Foucault's concession. Nearly all the land surrounding the lake was granted to various individuals, in many instances to army officers and Canadian officials. The first public record bearing on this subject is an order issued by the King, dated May 20, 1676, and authorizing such grants on Lake Champlain. One of the largest of these grants, or seigniories, was made on Oct. 7, 1743, to Gilles Hocquart, intendant of Canada from 1728 to 1748, at one time councillor of state and intendant of the naval forces at Brest. According to an early map, printed at Albany by Richard H. Pease, this seigniory appears to have included the present towns of Panton, Addison.Waltham, New Haven, Weybridge, and portions of Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, and Bristol. In a communication from the British Board of Trade, addressed to the committee of the Privy Council, the lordship of Hocquart is estimated to contain about 115,000 acres. In 1764 it was transferred to Michael Chartier de Lotbiniere, and in 1758 Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor general of Canada, granted to Lotbiniere who had laid out the fortress of Ticonderoga, the seigniory of Alainville, embracing more than four leagues in front and five leagues in depth, lying partly on Lake George, and partly on Lake Champlain.

Among other grants was one made to M. Contrecoeur Jr., July 7, 1734, "on the borders of Lake Champlain, beginning at the mouth of the Riviere aux Loutres [Otter Creek] one league and a half above, and one league and a half below, making two leagues in front by three in depth, together with so much of said Riviere aux Loutres as is found therein, with those islands or islets which are in front of said concession and depend thereon." This grant probably included the present towns of Ferrisburgh and Monkton, the city of Vergennes, and portions of Panton, Waltham, New Haven, and Bristol. On July 6, 1734, a grant was made to Sieur de La Perriere, one league above and one league below the River Ouinouski (Winooski). Captain La Perriere was an officer stationed at the castle of Quebec, who became governor of Montreal in 1752. This seigniory included a part or all of the present city of Burlington.

The next grant, lying to the north, was made to M. Raimbault. There is on record a deed of sale made in Montreal, bearing the date of Sept. 27, 1766, by which the heirs of M. Pierre Raimbault, "in his lifetime lieutenant general for His Most Christian Majesty of the Jurisdiction of this City [Montreal]" transferred the seigniory of La Maunadiere to Benjamin Price, Daniel Robertson, and John Livingston. The price agreed upon was 90,000 livres (about $18,000), "current money of the province," half of which was to be paid in gold and silver, and half in merchandise at the prices then current in Montreal. This was one of the first recorded land transfers in northern Vermont. The text of this deed is published in the manuscripts relating to the French claims, in the New York State Papers and the compiler has added a marginal note to the effect that Burlington is situated on a part of the seigniory of La Maunadiere. This would seem to be an error, however, as the De Lery map, made in Quebec in October, 1748, by M. Anger, the King's surveyor, shows M. Raimbault's grant to have extended from a point near the head of Malletts Bay, on the south, to a point on the north, apparently in the present town of Georgia. The deed of sale states that the southern boundary of the Raimbault grant is the seigniory granted to La Perriere, which lay a league above and a league below the mouth of the Winooski River. This would indicate that the southern boundary of the seigniory of La Maunadiere was several miles north of the present line between Burlington and Colchester. A grant to M. Douville seems to have included parts of Georgia, St. Albans, Fairfax, and Fairfield; while another made to M. de Beauvais Jr., included Highgate and parts of Swanton, Franklin, and Sheldon. Isle Longue, or North Hero, was granted to M. Contrecoeur Sr.

On April 10, 1733, a grant of "two leagues or two and a half in front, by three in depth, along the river Chambly and Lake Champlain, together with the river Chazy included therein and Isle a la Motte," was made to Sieur Pean, major of the town and castle of Quebec and member of the superior council of that city. This grant included the northern part of the present town of Champlain and it was transferred on May 2, 1754, to Daniel Lienard, Sieur de Beaujeu, who owned the seigniory immediately north. Both Contrecoeur and Beaujeu were prominent in the operations around Fort Duquesne, and the latter lost his life in the battle which resulted in General Braddock's defeat and death at the beginning of the French and Indian War. Grants a little to the south of Beaujeu's seigniories were made to Sieur St. Vincent, ensign of foot, and to Sieur La Gauchetiere, a captain of marines. Sieur Roebert, the King's store-keeper at Montreal, received a grant of two and one-half leagues above the Boquet River, and one league below.

It is difficult to give the exact limits of any of these grants, as the early maps were far from accurate in many particulars, and the boundaries as shown on different maps are not always the same. Most of these grants, being unimproved, reverted to the crown by virtue of an order issued at Quebec, May 10, 1741, by the governor, the Marquis de Beauharnois. As might have been expected this order was not accepted everywhere in a spirit of meekness. The protests received show more clearly, perhaps, than any other records, the fact that under conditions then existing the attempt to colonize the Champlain valley with French settlers was a hopeless and a thankless task. For example, Sieurs Contrecoeur and La Perriere maintained "that it was impossible to find individuals willing to accept lands, though they offered them some on very advantageous terms, and were willing to give even 300 livres to engage the said individuals." Sieur La Fontaine offered "to give to those whom he will find willing to settle there grain and even money, asking from them no rent, in order to obtain from them by the allurement of this gift what he cannot obtain by force". Sieur Roebert wrote that he had "neglected nothing to induce some young farmers to go and settle there by procuring for them great advantages and many facilities."

It appeared, however, that neither the "great advantages" nor the "many facilities" offered by Sieur Roebert, not even the "allurements" of Sieur La Fontaine, were sufficiently advantageous and alluring to tempt many young farmers to the French grants, and thus save to the proprietors their seigniories, which could not be retained if they remained unoccupied. It was much easier for ,the King of France "graciously to bestow" these seigniories, than it was for the favorites upon whom they were bestowed to persuade settlers to live upon them. The Champlain valley had not been a popular place for home seekers, long before the white man came; and the young farmers, realizing that a pathway for war parties was not likely to be a safe home for their wives and children, or a comfortable place for themselves, and having a lively desire to keep their scalps on their own heads, looked elsewhere for land. Moreover, the heart of the French people was not in the work of attempting to colonize America. Had the rulers of France left undone some of the things which they did in Europe, and set themselves earnestly to the task of improving and colonizing their vast possessions in the New World, then the history of America might have been written in a different manner, and, perhaps, in a different language.