Plattsburgh Bay

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Plattsburgh Bay
Plattsburgh Bay.jpg
Bay in 2012
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Location Plattsburgh, NY
Coordinates 44°41′33″N73°22′34″W / 44.692576°N 73.376141°W / 44.692576; -73.376141
Area7,025 acres (2,843 ha)
Built1814 (1814)
NRHP reference No. 66000507 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966 [1]
Designated NHLDecember 19, 1960 [2]

Plattsburgh Bay, also known as Cumberland Bay, is an inlet on the western shore of Lake Champlain in Clinton County, New York. The bay is the location of the town and city of Plattsburgh, and was the site of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a naval and land engagement fought on September 11, 1814, late in the War of 1812. The bay and two land sites related to the battle were designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960. [2] [3]

Contents

Description and history

Battle of Plattsburgh, seen from Cumberland Head Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain and defeat of the British Army at Plattsburg by Genl. Macomb, Sept. 11 1814 (cropped).jpg
Battle of Plattsburgh, seen from Cumberland Head

Plattsburgh Bay is located in the northern third of Lake Champlain, on its western shore opposite Grand Isle. It is bounded on the north and east by Cumberland Head, a peninsula extending east and then south, and on the west by the mainland city of Plattsburgh. The southern tip of Cumberland Head is about 2.8 miles (4.5 km) east of the city's shoreline. Southeast of the city, several miles south of the bay, lies Crab Island, which also played a significant role in the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh, and is included in the landmarked area of the bay. [3]

In September 1814, Plattsburgh came under attack by British forces from Canada seeking to gain territory for advantage in peace talks which were then ongoing. The city was occupied by British land forces on September 6, and preparations were made for a decisive sea battle for control of the lake. American ships were arrayed across the mouth of the bay between Cumberland Head and Crab Island, and won a decisive victory over the British fleet. At the same time, the British land forces were repulsed by Americans in repeated attempts to cross the Saranac River. One of the principal American land defenses was Fort Brown, which is included in landmark as a separate area. [3]

The third segment of the landmark is the Macdonough Memorial, placed in front of Plattsburgh City Hall and dedicated in 1926. A limestone obelisk 135 feet (41 m) in height, it honors Captain Thomas Macdonough, leader of the American naval forces in the battle. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Cumberland Head is a census-designated place and region of the town of Plattsburgh in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 1,627 at the 2010 census.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crab Island (Lake Champlain)</span>

Crab Island is a roughly 40-acre (0.16 km2) limestone island situated in Lake Champlain just outside Plattsburgh Bay in the town of Plattsburgh in Clinton County in upstate New York. During the War of 1812, the island was utilized as a military field hospital for convalescent soldiers as well as both British and American casualties of the Battle of Plattsburgh. The island is the site of a mass grave believed to contain the remains of roughly 150 of those casualties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valcour Island</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawley's Ferry House</span> Historic house in Vermont, United States

The Hawley's Ferry House, also known just as the Hawley House, is a historic house on the shore of Lake Champlain in Kingsland Bay State Park, Ferrisburgh, Vermont. Built about 1790, it is one of the few surviving 18th-century buildings on the Vermont side of the lake. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 "Plattsburgh Bay". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 19, 2007. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Charles A. Ashton and Richard W. Hunter (October 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Plattsburgh Bay" (pdf). National Park Service.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying photos, from 1983 and 1972  (3.54 MB)