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Photographer: Kevin Craft
Taken: August 1, 2014
Caption: Vergennes Shipyard Interpretive Panel
Additional Description:
Commodore Macdonough's Fleet
Under the leadership of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, nine boats were built in Vergennes for the War of 1812. These boats were vital to the American victory over the British Royal Navy at the Battle of Plattsburgh Bay. Macdonough's fleet included the 26-gun Saratoga (his flagship), the 17-gun schooner Ticonderoga, the 20-gun brig Eagle, and six 75-foot gunboats. All of the vessels were supplied with lumber, fittings, and shot from the sawmill, forges, and furnaces located at the Otter Creek Falls.

Steamboats of Vergennes
Captain Jahaziel Sherman and the Lake Champlain Steamboat Company built four of the lake's earliest steamboats in industrial Vergennes. Phoenix (1815), Champlain (1816), Congress (1818), and Phoenix II (1820) transported passengers and freight to ports along the lake. From 1877 to 1916, the Daniels Family Steamship Line offered passenger and freight service. Philomène Daniels became the first licensed female steamboat pilot in the world; Captain "Phil" was famous for her piloting skills, her no-nonsense attitude, and her elegant dresses and hats.
Submitted: August 4, 2014, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec.
Database Locator Identification Number: p281447
File Size: 3.190 Megabytes

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