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| ARTICLES Lake George: Birthplace of the “Modern” American Navy? By Joseph W. Zarzynski & Bob Benway (This article originally appeared in the June 15, 2007 issue of the LAKE GEORGE MIRROR newspaper, Lake George, New York, USA)
Nearby Whitehall, New York has a strong claim to this title citing the Continental Army’s construction of an American fleet on Lake Champlain in 1776 that culminated with the Battle of Valcour (October 11, 1776). However, some argue this was an Army operation and not Navy-related. Philadelphians believe their city deserves the designation--“Birthplace of the American Navy.” The Continental Congress while meeting in Philadelphia passed a resolution on October 13, 1775 to acquire two armed vessels from which the Continental Navy grew. The U.S. Navy cites this date as its birthday. Beverly and Marblehead, Massachusetts have a strong case, too, for this honor. In late 1775, American patriots outfitted warships to search for armed British transports off New England. Machias, Maine points to the seizure of a Royal Navy vessel by a sloop of patriots on June 12, 1775 for their claim as “Birthplace of the American Navy.” Even Providence, Rhode Island has rights to this nickname. They were the first to call for the creation of an American Navy. Confusing! Now, Lake George can argue for a similar crown--“Birthplace of the ‘Modern’ American Navy.” If you have seen the DVD documentary, “The Lost Radeau: North America’s Oldest Intact Warship,” you might recall one of its sub-stories about a 1980’s-built experimental naval vessel named SEA SHADOW. This futuristic ship has revolutionized the design of modern American warships. The SEA SHADOW has architectural similarities to Lake George’s 1758 LAND TORTOISE radeau. On October 22, 1758, the British deliberately sank the LAND TORTOISE to prevent capture by the French. The shipwreck was discovered in 1990 by Bateaux Below and studied from 1991-1993. The seven-sided LAND TORTOISE was a British warship of the French & Indian War (1755-1763) and was the prototype for a class of floating gun battery called “radeau” (French for “raft”). The LAND TORTOISE was literally a floating fortress pierced for seven guns. Unique to the radeau was its flat-panel upper bulwarks that tumbled in to protect the vessel’s gunners from hillside musket fire. The flat-bottomed 52 ft. long LAND TORTOISE was built to be an artillery support craft to venture into shallow water and silence enemy fire before an amphibious troop landing. The radeau design was later used in 1776 on Lake Champlain with the British warship THUNDERER. In the War of 1812 (1812-1815) the Americans constructed several floating batteries called block ships. During the Civil War (1861-1865) the ironclad CSS VIRGINIA had a tumblehome casemate, imitating the design of the LAND TORTOISE. In the 1980’s, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin built a strange looking 164 ft. long test vessel. The warship made a quantum leap in technological innovation. Its hull configuration had hard angles with a sloping trapezoidal appearance, a waterborne version of the F-117 stealth aircraft. The top secret SEA SHADOW was first unveiled in 1993. When photographs of it became public, researchers with Bateaux Below were stunned by the likeness of the SEA SHADOW’S hull shape to that of the LAND TORTOISE. Naval stealth technology and automation for reduced crew numbers, pioneered in the SEA SHADOW, are now being applied to the modern U.S. Navy. Bateaux Below’s Terry Crandall compared the SEA SHADOW and LAND TORTOISE: “In today’s modern navy, that same trapezoidal shape is being used to deflect radar, as that was used by the colonists to deflect perhaps small arms fire or even perhaps grapeshot or small cannon fire. The angled sides, the thickness of the planks and the trapezoidal shape both serve the purpose, generations apart, but served the same purpose of deflecting something.” Thus, it seems that Lake George, often called the “Queen of American Lakes” because of its natural beauty, can now command a new nickname--“Birthplace of the ‘Modern’ American Navy.” |
©2005 PEPE PRODUCTIONS / BATEAUX BELOW, INC. / WHITESEL GRAPHICS