Benedict Arnold was born the son of a successful business man, and was raised in an affluent family. By the time he was ready to attend Yale, however, Arnold was unable to go due to illness throughout his family. Instead, Arnold worked as a businessman and a merchant, gaining extensive seamanship experience, until he decided to enlist in the Connecticut militia and begin what would be an incredible military career. Benedict Arnold was an Army general whose decisions led to his name being synonymous with treachery; thus, he may seem like an unlikely candidate to have had a profound effect on the beginnings of the US Navy. In fact, Arnold’s experience with merchant ships gave him the unique opportunity to command one of the very first American …show more content…
ARNOLD’S OPERATIONS AT FORT TICONDEROGA AND ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN NOT ONLY PROVED THE NECESSITY OF AN AMERICAN NAVY, BUT ALSO SET THE PRECEDENT FOR EARLY AMERICAN NAVAL OPERATIONS AND ALLOWED AMERICAN FORCES TO PREPARE FOR THE BRUNT OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. At the start of the Revolutionary war, many Americans were skeptical about starting a national Navy; however, when the British began to advance it became clear that a Navy would be necessary to win the war. A few months into the Revolutionary war, the Continental Army invaded Quebec in an attempt to assert early dominance over the British. Despite the fact that not all of the British troops had reached Quebec yet, the American offensive was squashed and forced to retreat. Not long after, under the command of General Guy Carleton, the British launched a counter-attack. Due to the geography of the region, the only way for the British to move their army south was by sea, so their plan was to take control of Lake Champlain and sail to the Hudson River. British control of the Hudson would have been detrimental to American interests and thus, the Continental Army was forced to create a makeshift Navy. While Benedict Arnold was still up North, General Horatio Gates was placed in command of building the …show more content…
Ticonderoga was the access point to the Hudson River and Arnold knew that in order for the Americans to have a decent shot at defending it, they needed more time to prepare for the British attack. Knowing that failure to hold the fort could mean a swift end to the American’s efforts, Arnold came up with a plan to hold off the impending British attack. Compared to the experienced British fleet, the new American gunboats were heavily outgunned. In fact, just two of General Carleton’s ships – the HMS Thunderer and Inflexible – outgunned the entire American fleet. As such, Arnold was forced to get creative with his planning in order to effectively utilize his undersized navy. Arnold’s solution was to place his ships in a crescent formation, behind the island of Valcour. His plan was to draw the British fleet down and around the island, putting them at a severe tactical disadvantage downwind. Although Arnold was exposing the Southern route to Fort Ticonderoga, he knew the Carleton would not allow him to sail North and disrupt his supply line from Canada: “If the enemy venture up the lake, it will be impossible for them to take advantage of our situation.” Arnold’s plan played out just as he had expected, and the British ships, including the mighty HMS Thunderer, struggled to come back upwind