October 13, 1776: The Scuttle Shuffle
This day in the American Revolution: Benedict Arnold leads his remaining fleet on a retreat from Valcour Bay, pursued by the British. He orders the ships to be run aground, stripped of supplies, and burned. Arnold sets fire to his flagship himself before marching his surviving troops through the woods to Crown Point.
Though forced to retreat from Valcour Bay, Benedict Arnold was able to complete his main objective in preventing British movement north.
Arnold then led the remaining smaller craft into a small bay on the Vermont shore which was far too shallow for the larger British ships to give chase. These boats were run aground, stripped, and set on fire, with their flags still flying. Arnold, the last to run his ship aground, personally torched his flagship Congress. The surviving ships’ crews, numbering about 200, then made their way overland to Fort Crown Point. Upon reaching their destination, they were pleasantly surprised to see four surviving American ships which had, unbeknownst to them, escaped the British fleet shortly after the battle began on the 11th.
Despite this consolation, Arnold knew control of the lake was firmly in British hands, and he ordered the destruction of the fort before retreating Ticonderoga. With winter settling in, Carleton opted not to push further down into the upper Hudson against Ticonderoga, and thus, his goal of stalling the British expedition had ultimately succeeded despite the drubbing his fleet took at Valcour Island.
Source: Battlefields.org
