In the fall of 1776, Benedict Arnold built a fleet from green timber in the wilderness at Skenesborough, then hid it in a narrow strait behind Valcour Island on Lake Champlain to stall a vastly superior British force under General Guy Carleton. This episode explores how Arnold’s background as a ship captain, his scorched-earth retreat from Canada, and his uncompromising personality shaped one of the most consequential battles of the Revolution.

We follow the daring midnight escape through the British line, the burning of his fleet at what is now Arnold’s Bay, and why a tactical defeat bought the colonies a crucial year that led to Saratoga. We also trace how a chest of receipts lost on the burning Royal Savage left Arnold unable to settle his accounts with Congress, feeding the resentment that ended in his attempt to sell West Point to the British.

• Why Lake Champlain and the Hudson River were the key to splitting the colonies in half
• The shipbuilding race, from highly paid carpenters to a fever outbreak that stalled construction
• Arnold’s crescent-shaped defensive line and the early grounding of his flagship Royal Savage
• A young Edward Pellew climbing the bowsprit of the battered British schooner Carleton under fire
• The recovery of the Royal Savage, the gunboat Philadelphia, and the Spitfire from the lake