Quebec

Benedict Arnold’s Retreat Up Lake Champlain

September 4, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Towards the evening of the Battle of Valcour Bay on October 11, 1776, the HMS Inflexible got within point-blank shot of the Americans, “when five broadsides,” wrote Sir Charles Douglas, “silenced their whole line.”

One fresh ship, with scantling [a design] for sea-going, and a concentrated battery, has an unquestioned advantage over a dozen light-built craft, carrying one or two guns each, and already several hours engaged in battle. [Read more…] about Benedict Arnold’s Retreat Up Lake Champlain

The Naval Campaign on Lake Champlain in 1775-1776

September 3, 2026 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

In 1775, only fifteen years had elapsed since the expulsion of the New France from Canada following the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The concentration of French power in the valley of the St. Lawrence had impressed upon the minds of colonial leaders the importance of Lake Champlain, of its tributary Lake George, and of the Hudson River, as forming a consecutive, if not continuous, water line of communications from the St. Lawrence River to the city of New York. [Read more…] about The Naval Campaign on Lake Champlain in 1775-1776

Businesses Brace Against Trump’s 50% Tariff on Canadian Goods

August 14, 2026 by North Country Public Radio Leave a Comment

On July 20, President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods, from dairy and alcohol to motor vehicles to building materials like plywood, kitchen cabinets, and cement. They’ll take effect August 19 unless the countries strike a deal before that date. [Read more…] about Businesses Brace Against Trump’s 50% Tariff on Canadian Goods

Hudson Valley Loyalists and the Violence of Revolution

July 6, 2026 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

In many respects the American Revolution was a civil war pitting Americans loyal to the Crown against other Americans loyal to the vision of a new nation they sought to create. Neighbor fought against neighbor, brother against brother, father against son. One of the epicenters of this desperate struggle was New York’s Hudson Valley.

Suffering for the Crown: The Hudson Valley Loyalists and the Violence of Revolution (University of Virginia Press, 2026) by Kieran J. O’Keefe details the extreme violence, persecution, and displacement experienced by white, Black, and Native American Loyalists during the Revolution. [Read more…] about Hudson Valley Loyalists and the Violence of Revolution

Royal Savage: Neglected Champlain Warship Finally ‘On View’

April 17, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Veteran journalist and newspaper editor Anthony Hall of the Lake George Mirror alerted us to this story. Subscribe (or just make a gift) to the Mirror to support the important work of local journalists.

In the murky depths of Lake Champlain, the skeletal remains of the Continental Navy schooner Royal Savage rested for over 150 years, a silent witness to the birth of the American Navy.

However, after recovery in 1934 through turbulent years of improper storage, possibly being sold off to the highest bidder, and the government’s rescue of artifacts, countless hours of preservation, 3D-scans of original timbers and 1:12 scale models, visitors to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington, DC, can finally see history re-imagined. [Read more…] about Royal Savage: Neglected Champlain Warship Finally ‘On View’

Lake Champlain: The Irish Lake

March 9, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Between 1840 and 1860, a great wave of Irish immigrants washed up on the shores of Lake Champlain. So many, in fact, that the inland sea was nicknamed “the Irish lake.”

The reason, of course, was poverty and job opportunities. Although Irish Catholics had started arriving in New York and Vermont in numbers by 1820, Champlain truly became the Irish lake in the mid-1840s during the Great Famine. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain: The Irish Lake

America Wept: The Death of Richard Montgomery

December 12, 2025 by Jack Kelly 2 Comments

The television series The American Revolution by Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein currently streaming on PBS gives a valuable overview of the founding era and may entice viewers to look more deeply at the personalities of some of the participants.

Richard Montgomery (1738-1775) has interested me because he was connected to the area of the Hudson Valley where I live. And he’s someone who emerges from the past as a distinct personality, someone who had been seared by war long before the Revolution. [Read more…] about America Wept: The Death of Richard Montgomery

King George’s War and the Thirty-Year Peace

October 13, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

King George’s War and the Thirty-Year Peace: The Third Contest for North America (Westholme Publishing, 2025) continues the contest for North America from the end of Queen Anne’s War in 1713, marking the beginning of the Thirty-Year Peace, through the start of King George’s War in 1744, to its conclusion with the signing of Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle four years later.

While there would be little fighting between the French, Spanish, and British colonies in North America during the Thirty-Year Peace — the Franco-Spanish conflict of 1719 being an exception — for the French and British it did not prove to be peaceful. [Read more…] about King George’s War and the Thirty-Year Peace

New Yorkers Exiled to Tasmania for the 1837-38 Canadian Patriot Rebellion

September 19, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

On September 30, 1970, in a simple ceremony, a monument was unveiled at Sandy Bay Beach Reserve in Hobart, Tasmania, by the Honorable Douglas Harkness, the former Canadian defense minister. It was in honor to the ninety-two Patriot exiles, transported to what was then called Van Diemen’s Land who had been captured in the 1837-38 Patriot War insurrection in Upper Canada against British domination.

Listed as Canadian rebels, a majority were in fact from the state of New York. Although imprisoned US citizens captured in the various conflicts with England – from the American Revolution to the War of 1812– was not a novelty, it was to be the first time that American prisoners were shipped to a penal colony in Australia due to a confrontation with the Empire. [Read more…] about New Yorkers Exiled to Tasmania for the 1837-38 Canadian Patriot Rebellion

American & Canadian Patriot War Exiles Subject of New Doc

August 7, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new documentary by filmmaker Deke Richards spotlights the little-known story of American and Canadian exiles sent as convicts to the penal colony of Australia after their capture during the 1837-38 Canadian Insurrections against the British (also known as the Patriot War). [Read more…] about American & Canadian Patriot War Exiles Subject of New Doc

Richard and Janet Montgomery and 1775 Invasion of Canada

July 9, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Richard Montgomery (1736-1775), son of Irish aristocracy, had become a professional British soldier who served in North America during the French and Indian War.

After that service, in which Richard had proven himself in combat and as a gifted leader of men, he was promoted to Captain. [Read more…] about Richard and Janet Montgomery and 1775 Invasion of Canada

Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections

May 6, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Faith healer André Bessette (1845–1937), who was later known as Brother André or Saint André of Montréal, was a frequent visitor to Plattsburgh, NY, especially after Clinton County residents, many of whom were distant cousins, told people about their cures. His special friends were Andrew Wilson and his wife, Mary Picotte, who lived at 33 Broad Street. Brother André would often take the train down from Montreal or friends would drive him down to spend a few days with them.

While he was in the area, he would visit relatives and people who were ill, and the Wilsons would open their home to people who wanted to see their friend. [Read more…] about Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections

French Canadians in NY: The Saint Jean Baptiste Society of Plattsburgh

April 27, 2025 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

A small box of old documents at the Clinton County Historical Association Museum (CCHA) recently came to my attention. It contained items about the Saint Jean Baptiste Society (SSJB) affiliated with St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh: an early ledger of the SSJB dated July 17,1872, with as many as 80 members on the rolls, member applications from the early 20th century, plans to build a hall for the SSJB, financial records, and a proclamation concerning World War One.

The SSJB was founded in Montreal in 1834 by Ludger Duvernay (1799-1852) with the purpose of retaining the French language and culture in the New World. June 24, 1834, was the first celebration of Saint Jean Baptiste Day in Quebec and is now an established provincial holiday. [Read more…] about French Canadians in NY: The Saint Jean Baptiste Society of Plattsburgh

Summit to Shore: The Lake Champlain Basin

November 25, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new video series launched by the Lake Champlain Basin Program in partnership with Peregrine Productions and NEIWPCC celebrates the beauty of the Lake Champlain basin and efforts in several communities to protect and restore their shared waters.

With the web-based Summit to Shore StoryMap as a guide, viewers can digitally explore the landscape around Lake Champlain, from distant mountain peaks in the headwaters to wetlands on the lake’s shoreline. The videos include breathtaking drone imagery, intimate portraits of streams and rivers, and panoramic 360-degree video. [Read more…] about Summit to Shore: The Lake Champlain Basin

Lori Fisher Retiring as Executive Director of Lake Champlain Committee

August 22, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Lake Champlain Committee of Vermont, New York, and Quebec has announced today that Lori Fisher, its Executive Director, will retire on December 31 after more than 30 years of service to the organization and the Lake Champlain Basin. [Read more…] about Lori Fisher Retiring as Executive Director of Lake Champlain Committee

Henry Baker: A Loyalist Who Resettled in New York

April 11, 2024 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Our home sits on a small knoll within sight of Round Lake on English Road in the town of Clifton Park, in Saratoga County, NY. The original 100-acre farm lot was purchased in 1797 by Henry Baker (1747-1834), a farmer from Halfmoon and his wife Hannah. Baker was a Loyalist that had settled in Halfmoon after the Revolutionary War.

The 1797 deed lists the grantor of Lot three as Janet Smith and Harriet, widow and daughter of the Honorable William Smith (1728 – 1793), a Loyalist, chief Justice of the Province of Lower Canada and previously the Chief Justice of New York from 1780-1782. [Read more…] about Henry Baker: A Loyalist Who Resettled in New York

Confederate Spies at the Canadian Border

February 2, 2024 by Devin Lander Leave a Comment

We often think about the Civil War in terms of two large armies facing off on the battlefield, but less seldom do we consider the clandestine efforts on behalf of the Confederate States of America to bring the war to United States territory and influence Great Britain and other European nations to join the attack on the United States. [Read more…] about Confederate Spies at the Canadian Border

General John E. Wool & New York’s Northern Defenses, 1830

January 12, 2024 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

What follows is a letter to addressed to Secretary at War Hon. John H. Eaton at Washington, DC, from Brigadier General John E. Wool in the Inspector General’s office (although that position had been vacant for many years).

Conformably to your wishes, expressed when I met you at Buffalo, in July last, I have the honor to present my views on the expediency of fortifying the Northern Frontier, and particularly in the neighborhood of Rouses Point on Lake Champlain. [Read more…] about General John E. Wool & New York’s Northern Defenses, 1830

Sackets Harbor’s Horse Island: A Shared Heritage

December 31, 2023 by Constance Barone 1 Comment

Sackets Harbor’s strategic location on the eastern end of Lake Ontario made it the only possible site for the American military command during the War of 1812.

This natural harbor, located in Haudenosaunee territory, became a hub of activity for shipbuilding drawing thousands of personnel and a place to amass war materiel. So, in Northern New York, Sackets Harbor became the site of both offensive and defensive actions during the war years. [Read more…] about Sackets Harbor’s Horse Island: A Shared Heritage

Woman Dies Crossing Great Chazy River: Some Background

December 20, 2023 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

On Tuesday, December 12 at about 6:30 pm, US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) and the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office requested NYS Forest Ranger assistance with the search for 31-year-old Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores, who was reported missing by her husband on Monday, December 11th.

On Wednesday, December 13th, nine Forest Rangers arrived to helped coordinate linear search assignments. Investigative efforts narrowed the primary search area to the Great Chazy River. [Read more…] about Woman Dies Crossing Great Chazy River: Some Background

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