NEWSLETTER
Cannon carriages and other relics from the 1776 Battle of Valcour Island to be conserved and displayed at Fort Ticonderoga in honor of the 250th Anniversary
Ticonderoga, NY — In honor of National Preservation Month, Fort Ticonderoga is proud to announce the conservation of seven artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Royal Savage, Benedict Arnold’s flagship over the summer and fall of 1776. The project will help preserve and bring these rare objects back to public view for the first time in decades, in time for the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Valcour Island this October.
The artifacts include two 6-pound cannon carriages, three iron shot, a curved ship's timber, and a small gun carriage truck or wheel, all recovered from Lake Champlain in the early 1900s. After a century out of the water, these objects are in urgent need of conservation treatment. Thanks to grant support from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership (CVNHP), Fort Ticonderoga will partner with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) Artifact Conservation Laboratory, a regional leader in maritime conservation, to stabilize and preserve them for generations to come.
"These objects are among the rarest survivors of the American Revolution on Lake Champlain," said Beth L. Hill, President and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga. "Conserving and displaying them in time for the 250th anniversary of Valcour Island is exactly the kind of work that defines our mission and we are grateful to our partners at the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership for making it possible."
Captured from the British during the invasion of Canada, the schooner Royal Savage figured prominently in the dramatic Battle of Valcour Island. In October 1776, General Benedict Arnold commanded a small American fleet on Lake Champlain to monitor and contest the British advance southward. On October 11, the fleet engaged a larger British force off Valcour Island. The Royal Savage ran aground during the battle, was captured, and burned. Though the Americans suffered heavy losses, Arnold showed the British they faced determined American resistance.
Few physical traces of that battle have survived. The conserved artifacts from the Royal Savage will join an extraordinary group of survivors that include the gunboat Philadelphia, now also undergoing conservation and re-interpretation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
A selection of artifacts, including one of the cannon carriages, will be featured in a new exhibit at Fort Ticonderoga commemorating the 250th anniversary of the 1776 Campaign and the Battle of Valcour Island. Visitors will be able to see these newly conserved objects in person beginning this fall when Fort Ticonderoga hosts a distinguished panel of scholars for a special conference “Arnold’s Defeat or Ultimate Victory? Perspectives on the 1776 Campaign,” October 9-11, 2026.
For more information about the conference, visit https://fortticonderoga.org/ft_events/special-250th-conference-arnolds-defeat-or-ultimate-victory-perspectives-on-the-1776-campaign/
About Fort Ticonderoga:
Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga is a major cultural destination, museum, historic site, and center for learning. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about North America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 70,000 visitors each year with an economic impact of more than $16 million annually. Presenting vibrant programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits, Fort Ticonderoga is open for daily visitation May through October and special programs during Winter Quarters, November through April. Fort Ticonderoga is owned by The Fort Ticonderoga Association, a 501c3 non-profit educational organization, and is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts. To view Fort Ticonderoga’s electronic press kit, click here.
This project was funded by an agreement awarded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program. GLFC manages contract tasks and provides input on the program’s activities through a partnership with the LCBP Steering Committee.
Photo: This commemorative 19th view of Arnold's fleet depicts the profile of the schooner Royal Savage as she appeared in 1776.
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