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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	THE GUNDELO PHILADELPHIA Washington, D.C.
Location: Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. National Museum of American History

Ownership and Administration (1961). Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Government.

Significance. The U.S. Gundelo Philadelphia is the only surviving gunboat built and manned by American forces during the Revolutionary War. Moreover, the vessel is one of the 15 small craft with which Benedict Arnold fought 29 British vessels in the battle off Valcour Island, Lake Champlain, on October 11, 1776. The year of grace won by the building of Arnold's "fleet" and the battle off Valcour Island paved the way for the decisive American victory at Saratoga in the autumn of the following year.

Little more than a rowboat compared with modern vessels, the Philadelphia was one of the hastily built fleet constructed in the early summer of 1776 at present Whitehall, N.Y. In late September 1776, the fleet took station in a small bay west of Valcour Island, about 7 miles south of what is now Plattsburgh, N.Y. The sound between the island and the mainland was about three-quarters of a mile wide, divided by a high bluff projecting from the west side of the island. Arnold's fleet formed a line south of the bluff and in this position on October 11 fought the heavier British Fleet to a standstill. The American force was badly damaged in the action, and only with considerable luck did Arnold elude the enemy and escape southward during the night. The Royal Savage, the former American flagship, was lost, and the Philadelphia was sunk on October 11, and only four of Arnold's vessels managed to escape the British pursuit during the next 2 days.

Arnold's action on Lake Champlain wrecked the plans of Gen. Sir Guy Carleton, British commander in Canada, to push down the Hudson and unite with Sir William Howe, a move that would have split the northern Colonies. Carleton moved on to Crown Point after the battle off Valcour Island, but the time lost in building his fleet to oppose Arnold, together with the hard fight with the Americans, led him to reconsider his plans. Deciding that it was now too late in the season to prosecute the invasion to a successful conclusion, Carleton withdrew to Canada.

In 1934 the wreck of the Royal Savage was recovered and the pieces saved. In the following year the Philadelphia, remarkably well preserved by the cold water, was identified and salvaged from the sandy lake bottom near the midchannel of Valcour Bay. After her guns were lifted, a 12-pounder and two 9-pounders, the hull was raised 57 feet to the surface and towed to the beach. In addition to her guns, hundreds of other relics were found on the vessel—shot, cooking utensils, tools, buttons, buckles, and human bones. The vessel was exhibited at various places on Lake Champlain and the Hudson River and finally, in 1960, was placed at the Smithsonian Institution.

Present Appearance (1961). The Philadelphia's hull is 54 feet in length, 15 feet in beam, and approximately 5 feet deep. Construction was almost entirely of oak. The mast, nearly 36 feet high, was found intact except for the top section, and the oaken hull timbers were still in place. Three shotholes were visible in the hull, and in one of them a cannonball remained lodged. Considering the punishment it took in battle and its long years under water, the Philadelphia is exceptionally well-preserved. [11]