Object Record
Images
Additional Images [1]
Metadata
Object Name |
Gavel |
Description |
Wooden gavel Old typewritten exhibit label "A gavel made from one of Benedict Arnold's Lake Champlain fleet. Sunk in 1777 and under water 133 years. Presented by George H. Ripley" Ripley wrote Franklin Pember (87.2100) in a letter noting his donation of the gavel and included historical information on the fleet by Dr. E.T. Horton (87.2101). The documentation suggest that the vessel found through dredging the canal in 1910 was one of three - Enterprise, Revenge, or Liberty. Through historical newspapers and online research: The sloop Enterprise was presumed to have been found by J.F. Nadeau in early 1910 at Crown Point per March 1910 news articles. A knee of timber was sent to the Maine Historical Society. The object is listed in their collection database (object #2007.171) and attached to it is a worn b&w photo of a 72ft vessel raised at Ft. Frederick 1909. This photo postcard is also in the Adirondack Experience's (museum) collection (catalog #1978.071.0077). The ship's name is not identified. The Enterprise was the HMS George which Arnold captured in May 1775 and renamed. The ship was 62ft. Per historic records, the Enterprise was run aground at Skenesboro (now Whitehall, NY) and burned by the Americans 7/7/1777. The sloop Revenge (70') was presumed to be recovered from the lake bottom in January 1909 per a Vermont magazine article and newspaper articles. The August/September 1909 issue of The Vermonter magazine (page 238) includes a photo of the remains of a ship with a caption, "The Revenge, one of the battleships of Benedict Arnold's fleet. - This vessel, with two others, escaped to shelter of Fort Ticonderoga, after a running battle with a superior British force in 1776. In January 1909, it was recovered from the lake bottom and is now on exhibition near the lake shore at Fort Ticonderoga." The Revenge may have been burned and sunk in July 1777 near Fort Ticonderoga. The schooner Liberty (50 feet) was not involved in the Battle of Valcour but was scuttled near Skenesboro (Whitehall) by the Americans in 1777 to avoid capture. Records do not show her recovery. The schooner Royal Savage was discovered in 1909 per news articles, and there were plans to raise her, but it was not raised until 1934 by Lorenzo Hagglund. |
Object ID |
1996.0017.17 |
Accession number |
96.0017 |
Collection |
Artifacts |
Collector |
George H. Ripley |
Collection date |
1915-11-23 |
Dimensions |
H-2.53 W-1.75 L-9.75 inches |