The Battle of Valcour Island (11 October 1776) was one of the first naval battles of the American Revolutionary War. In the battle, Benedict Arnold's makeshift American fleet stalled British plans to reach the upper Hudson Valley, although the British destroyed Arnold's flotilla.
In the fall of 1776, the British prepared an invasion of the United States from Canada, but their path was blocked by the American army of Benedict Arnold. Arnold, whose army had retreated from its blockade of Quebec in the spring of 1776, now held positions around Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York. Arnold decided to blockade Lake Champlain to stall a British advance into the upper Hudson Valley, and he had his men build a makeshift navy. In three months, Arnold built a fleet of 15 boats and recruited 800 men. The British Royal Navy added 25 warships to their own fleet to meet his challenge, and Arnold's fleet waited to ambush the British from behind Valcour Island. On 11 October 1776, the British found Arnold's fleet. Arnold fought hard, and he aimed some of the cannons himself due to the lack of trained gunners. By dusk, the American fleet was shattered, and a third of his crewmen were killed or wounded; all of his boats were damaged. The British anchored and prepared to finish off the Americans the next morning, but Arnold slipped past the royal fleet in the night. In the end, Arnold accomplished his mission, as it was too cold for the British to march south, and they withdrew to Canada. The battle of Valcour Island had bought America another season to fight.