Carleton's Prize is a small rock island in the

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

waters of

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

, in Crescent Bay off the southwestern tip of South Hero. Rising from water's edge to a plateau, situated between Stave and Providence Islands, it has been called Carleton's Prize since the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

when Sir Guy Carleton brought it to notoriety in 1776, the morning after the

Battle of Valcour Island The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the Province of New York, Ne ...

. Local lore has it that it was very foggy on the lake as

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

escaped from behind

Valcour Island Valcour Island is a island in Lake Champlain in Clinton County, New York, United States. The island is mostly in the Town of Peru and partly in the Town of Plattsburgh, southeast of the City of Plattsburgh. It is within the boundaries of the ...

with what was left of his small fleet. Not believing the Americans could have slipped by in the dark (which they had), the British searched to the north and east. In the heavy fog they sighted what they thought was a ship and summarily pounded it with their cannons, smoke from the

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

adding to the lack of visibility. After up to an hour without return fire, either a breeze came up or the fog burned off, and the British realized they had not been firing on a ship. This distraction allowed Arnold to escape down the lake to

Addison, Vermont Addison is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,365. History Addison was chartered on October 14, 1761. Benning Wentworth named the town Addison after poet Joseph Addison. Geography Ac ...

, where he burned his remaining fleet to prevent capture. Local lore goes further to say that local Islanders had hoisted logs on the island to look like masts. Rust marks from fired cannon shot are still visible on the rock.

References

Lake islands of Vermont Islands of Lake Champlain South Hero, Vermont Islands of Grand Isle County, Vermont {{Vermont-geo-stub