Prelude
American militia under Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen had captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. Later that year these forces were involved in the invasion of Canada, but poor weather and timely arrival of British reinforcements caused the Americans to fall back to Fort Ticonderoga in May 1776. There they proceeded to build a gunboat fleet to help repel an expected British invasion (Nelson 2006:30ff).
The British, under the command of General Guy Carleton, realized that they needed to control Lake Champlain in order to conduct a successful campaign in New York. Since area roads were usually poor quality (if they existed at all), lakes and rivers were important transport routes for both sides. By controlling Lake Champlain, British forces in Canada could potentially link up with forces in New York City and crush the rebellion in America (Nelson 2006:39ff).
Read more about this topic: USS Spitfire (1776 Gunboat)
Famous quotes containing the word prelude:
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