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I would like to thank
Art Cohn
and Philip Lord for giving me the freedom to take
responsibility for this discovery. Together, they provided the blueprint
from which the Valcour Bay Research Project was formed. Their continued
support and direction coupled with the involvement of Lake Champlain
Maritime Museum conservators and divers, Pierre LaRocque, Adam
Kane, Bill Atkinson and Rob Wilczynski, assure its
success.
Because the
discovery of this cannon preceded any funding for its recovery and study,
this project necessitated a grassroots effort - An effort that has drawn
upon the volunteered skills of many. What’s most important for me, in
these few moments that I have to share with you, is to acknowledge their
many gracious contributions.
Historical material,
such as this, should be protected and preserved for all to enjoy. A
primary objective of this project is the development of a stewardship
ethic within the diving community. With that in mind, the Plattsburgh
YMCA scuba program was the most logical place to start. The late Chuck
LeBlanc founded the Y’s program; for over thirty years, Chuck
developed instructional, safety & ethical standards of the highest
caliber. Dan Carpenter, Steve Nye and Dan Rock have
brought those professional standards to the Valcour Bay Research Project.
I’m certain that Chuck would be as proud of their contributions as I am.
I’d like to thank
Bill Leege, Tony Tyrell and Matt Booth for bringing
their insights and experience to the group. Long ago, they recognized the
need and potential to preserve the Champlain Valley’s cultural heritage.
Together, they founded Lake Champlain Archeological Associates in the
1970’s. I like to flatter myself in thinking that this project is a
continuation of their earlier efforts.
Thanks go to brothers, Tim and Terry Aubin, for their
contributions. Terry is an Accident Reconstructionist with the New York
State Police and has been instrumental in the development the project’s
master survey map. The location of each encountered artifact is
meticulously recorded and plotted upon this map. From it, we may be able
to reconstruct events of this historic battle and determine the movements
of the fleet.
I’d like to thank
Todd Bissonette and Jerry Forkey for their generosity. Todd
has made several trips far from his home in Lake Placid to lend a
professional hand. Jerry has often donated the use of his boat to
bring divers out to the site. Jerry also donated his photography
skills and documented much of the group’s efforts last year.
Preparations for
today’s recovery were made mainly through the mechanical skills, diving
experience, and physical strength of Greg Durocher, Phil LaMarche
and Dennis O’Neil. Rigging the cannon for its recovery was no easy
task. It required working at depth, with an obviously heavy object, in
near zero visibility and among many lines and chains. Thanks to them for
a job well done.
I would like to thank
Roger Harwood and his wife, Linda Harwood, for putting the
finishing touches on the final phase of this recovery effort. Besides
being a mechanical engineer, Roger is also a human engineer. Through his
patience, persistence, humor and wit Roger is able to open hearts and
minds and bring people beyond their boundaries. In a revival of the
Spirit of ’76, you’ll find the Spirit in Roger.
A special thanks goes
to historian and web designer, Jim Millard and his wife Lynn.
Jim has furthered the educational objectives of this project by
leaps and bounds. Jim has offered the use of his website,
America’s Historic Lakes, as the official home of the Valcour Bay
Research Project. I hope you’ll visit his site at
www.historiclakes.org and benefit from his enthusiasm of sharing the
history of Lake George and Lake Champlain. The work of the Valcour Bay
Research Project is by no means complete. I hope you’ll also visit the
site to monitor our progress. Thanks too, Lynn, for tolerating my
many intrusions into your home and donating the use of your talented
husband.
To my wife, Lori,
and my sons, Shawn and Matt, I owe my greatest thanks. I
have often vacated my duties as husband and father to disappear beneath
these waters, behind a keyboard or into the eighteenth century. Without
your love and support, none of what I’ve been able to accomplish would
have been possible.
The defense of Lake
Champlain during 1776 drew upon the resources of the Champlain Valley,
several American colonies and of a newly forming federal government. I
think it’s only appropriate that we draw upon the regional, state and
federal resources of today to preserve this American legacy.
I would like to thank
all of you, our dignitaries and our guests, for sharing our appreciation –
our reverence for the patriots who fought here at Valcour Island. I hope
you’ll agree that these objects have great historical and educational
potential. Their recovery, preservation and display may give us some
conception of the conviction and courage essential for these early
Americans to stand, not only before the guns of an enemy, but behind that
of their own. They may also serve to enlighten and remind us of the many
great sacrifices that were made in the pursuit of American independence.
An independence that was forged more through the mettle of men than by the
metal of guns.
Shawn, Lori and Matt Scollon
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Photos by
Jerry Forkey, Lori Scollon and Jim Millard |
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