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VALCOUR - 1776 Campaign

The Fort Plain Museum

Welcomes

Historian Jack Kelly

 as he presents

VALCOUR The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty

Monday, April 5, 2021 at 7:00 PM EST

This is Free Zoom event and Registration is Required.

Please Click Here to Register for Kelly's Talk

Please Click Here to Order a Copy of Valcour

Thank you to our Anonymous Donor for making these free virtual events possible and thank you all for your support of the Fort Plain Museum & Historical Park!

During the summer of 1776, just three days after patriots declared independence from Britain, an enemy invasion from Canada loomed. In response, citizen soldiers of the new nation mounted a heroic defense. Patriots constructed a small fleet of gunboats on Lake Champlain in northern New York and confronted the Royal Navy in a desperate three-day battle near Valcour Island. Their effort stunned the British and forced the enemy to call off the invasion.

VALCOUR: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty by historian Jack Kelly (St. Martin’s Press; April 6, 2021) is the wild, suspenseful story of this crucial and often neglected campaign of the Revolutionary War.

VALCOUR is a story of people. The underrated general Philip Schuyler (Hamilton's father-in-law) led the northern campaign of 1776, aided by the ambitious former British officer Horatio Gates, and the notorious Benedict Arnold. Kelly’s eye-opening account demonstrates how Arnold, forever infamous for betraying his country in 1780, was one of the most successful and inspiring soldiers of the early war. He devised an audacious strategy that confounded his slow-witted opponents and delayed the British invasion until the following year.

America’s independence hung in the balance during 1776. Patriots endured one defeat after another. But two events turned the tide: Washington’s famous attack on Trenton and the equally daring but largely unknown fight at Valcour Island. George Washington was able to cross the Delaware on Christmas night because Benedict Arnold crossed Lake Champlain that autumn. These two courageous and strategically brilliant strokes allowed the Revolution to continue.

AUTHOR BIO: JACK KELLY is a historian, journalist, and novelist. He is noted for his evocative prose and his ability to bring history to life. His books include Band of Giants, which received the DAR's History Award Medal. He has contributed to national periodicals including The Wall Street Journal and is a New York Foundation for the Arts fellow. He has appeared on The History Channel and been interviewed on National Public Radio. He lives and works in New York's Hudson Valley.

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