A well-traveled Lake Champlain shipwreck

On July 1, a collection of 51 timbers and some 1,300 associated artifacts from the Revolutionary War schooner Royal Savage were restored to United States Navy by the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This event opened a new chapter in the remarkable saga of a Lake Champlain shipwreck.

Royal Savage was the flagship of the hastily-assembled American fleet commanded by Benedict Arnold whose mission was to block the advance of the British Royal Navy in 1776. The schooner's 15-month active career ended on Oct. 11, 1776 at the battle of Valcour Island. But that was only the beginning of her story.

The 50-foot topsail schooner known as Brave or Royal Savage was built by the British at St. Jean on the Richelieu River in the summer of 1775. Only weeks after launching, Royal Savage was sunk by American forces under Richard Montgomery, en route to the siege of Quebec. The recovered schooner was turned over to the Americans. When the siege of Quebec failed, Royal Savage was used by American troops evacuating from Canada in the spring of 1776, and she became flagship of the fleet being assembled by the Americans to defend Lake Champlain.

Beginning of a battle

In early October, Arnold positioned his fleet in the channel between Valcour Island and the New York shore. When the first British vessels were sighted on Oct. 11, Arnold advanced with Royal Savage, Congress (a row galley that could be maneuvered forward or backward with oars), and two additional vessels.

Attempting to come about and rejoin the American line, Royal Savage ran aground, perhaps due to mismanagement by her inexperienced crew, or adverse winds. It proved impossible to free her while under fire, and Arnold later reported, "The captain thought prudent to run her onto the point of Valcour where all the men were saved." New research now suggests that cannon from the British ship Inflexible had found their mark and the damage they inflicted on Royal Savage is what actually caused its grounding on the rocks.

The British then boarded the vessel and turned her guns against the Americans. The American fleet responded with such a concentrated fire that the British boarding party was forced to abandoned the ship with heavy losses. At nightfall, to prevent her recapture by the Americans, the British commander ordered Royal Savage burned.

Arnold's papers and clothing on board the vessel were lost. The fire and explosion of gunpowder on Royal Savage diverted attention from the remaining American vessels that escaped to the south. On Oct. 13, the British caught up with the remnants of the American fleet, and a second battle was fought. Arnold, on the Congress, covered the smaller gunboats until they had been run ashore and set afire, then beached Congress, made sure the vessels were all aflame so they could not be taken, and led his troops and area settlers to the safety of Fort Ticonderoga.

Landmark and local legend

From the 1840s to the early 1900s, the wreck of Royal Savage remained at the point of Valcour Island as a landmark and local legend, visible in the shallow water and vulnerable to weather, waves, and relic hunters. Newspapers and local histories periodically carried stories, reporting in 1868 that "portions of the sides were wrenched off with grappling irons." Some of the wood, "black as ebony and almost as heavy," was carved into commemorative souvenirs. Attempts to raise the vessel failed, and over the decades, silt gradually obscured the shipwreck and its precise location was forgotten.

During World War I, as an infantry lieutenant in Plattsburgh training for overseas service, Lorenzo Hagglund was inspired by stories of the naval battles on Lake Champlain, and resolved that he would return to the lake to search for remains of the Revolutionary War fleet.

He became a skilled diver, working in marine salvage in the 1920s, and in 1932 decided to spend his vacation in a concentrated search for Royal Savage. On the last day of his vacation, he spotted the wreck, half buried in mud. News of his discovery gradually spread, and the following year while unsuccessfully seeking government support to salvage the vessel, he received disturbing reports of souvenir hunters damaging the wreck. In 1934, Hagglund returned to the site prepared to use his own resources to raise the Royal Savage. He recruited and trained local helpers and contacted his friend Ralph Chapman, president of Philadelphia Derrick & Salvage Corp., who came with his son Edward to join the team.

The techniques and scientific standards of nautical archaeology were still some decades in the future. Hagglund and his team addressed the project with a combination of marine salvage experience and Yankee ingenuity. They camped out on Valcour Island and wore bulky hard-hat dive gear to visit the wreck where they sifted through the mud and silt to recover artifacts. When the timbers were cleared, empty tar barrels from nearby road work were attached to the wreck to provide flotation. A winch rigged to rocks and trees helped haul the shipwreck to shore. Once out of the water, the wreck could not be left unguarded, so measurements and photographs were taken to aid in future reassembly, and the wreck was dismantled and placed in storage.

In 1935, Lorenzo Hagglund recovered another vessel from the 1776 fleet. The gunboat Philadelphia was in a remarkable state of preservation, and captured the public imagination. Philadelphia was exhibited as an attraction on Lake Champlain for nearly 30 years, and in 1964 went to Washington to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, while Royal Savage remained in storage.

Remains go to Pennsylvania

In the mid-1990s, the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was embarking on an ambitious program of museum exhibits, and purchased the remains of Royal Savage. A. Peter Barranco, Jr., Lake Champlain nautical archaeologist and historian, noted sadly, "This is the final chapter of the Royal Savage on Lake Champlain — after 220 years she is leaving ... it is a sad day for the lake." However, policies and laws evolved to reflect the consensus that historic shipwrecks are significant public cultural artifacts worthy of preservation and protection. In 2014, Harrisburg reconsidered their plans for the Royal Savage remains, and in the spring of 2015 arrangements were made to transfer the collection to the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).

"This ship and its artifacts are now going to be preserved and cherished for the public for generations to come," said Harrisburg mayor Eric Papenfuse. "We are pleased to bring them to the light of day." Sam Cox, director of the NHHC, accepted the artifacts on behalf of the Navy, commenting, "The United States Navy takes very seriously our obligation to protect and preserve the heritage of the Navy and our nation. The first thing we will do is go through a process of preserving them and protecting them for the long term."

Art Cohn, founder of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, on hand for the historic occasion, expressed "gratitude to the city of Harrisburg and the Naval History and Heritage Command for their extraordinary cooperation in preserving a hugely important piece of American history."

Now the Royal Savage collection has traveled to Washington to be curated, studied and interpreted. As we celebrate Vermont Archaeology Month this September, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is pleased to participate in the efforts to preserve this important connection to America's founding years and to help bring the story of Royal Savage to the public.

Eloise Beil is director of Collections and Exhibits at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

About the museum

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, 4472 Basin Harbor Road, is seven scenic miles from Vergennes, across from the Basin Harbor Club. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 11. Special exhibits on view include "History in Miniature: The Maritime Models of Bill Kissam" and "Parley & Protocol: Abenaki Diplomacy Past and Present." On Water Ecology Tours and the Museum/Lunch/Cruise discount package are available by reservation through Oct. 11 (weather permitting). Every day at LCMM something special can be added to a visit – 60-to-90- minute mini-workshops and on-water experiences that allow you to try something new: blacksmithing, longboat rowing, quest for fire, copper forming or rope work. For information call (802) 475-2022 or visit www.lcmm.org.