man & nature # 28a - bigger is better

Lake Champlain moon • click to embiggenOK, I realized after viewing today's earlier entry that I was describing details in one the moon pictures that are probably too small to see easily. Here is that picture in a bigger size.

FYI, Lake Champlain - the lake is actually part of the Adirondack Park. It's a big lake - about 110 miles long. As the crow flies, it's about 15 miles due East of my house. The entire Eastern border of the Adirondack Park is the shore of Lake Champlain, often referred to as the Adirondack Coast.

The lake played an important role in the American Revolutionary War. If I had turned my camera just a tiny bit to the left, Valcour Island would enter the view. The waters around Valcour Island were the site of what is generally regarded as the first naval battle fought by the United States Navy. Under the command of Benedict Arnold, the Americans got their butts kicked (and sunk) but he had enough success that the British attempt to divide the colonies in half was delayed by a year. The later attempt failed miserably with American victory at Saratoga. The battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolution.

In the first of the 2 separate battles that were The Battle of Saratoga, it was Arnold (dispatched to the scene by General Washington when he learned of an impending battle) and the men in his command that handed the British a decisive setback. For his efforts, Arnold was relieved of command and sent packing before the second battle by General Gates, who shared a bitter mutual resentment with Arnold. Gates' report of the battle never mentioned Arnold or his part in it. In fact, it was Arnold who directed the battle and personally lead several charges into the British position while Gates sat in his tent.

Hmmm .... I wonder why he defected.

BTW, the eventual turncoat, Benedict Arnold, is celebrated as a hero in these parts. Before his switch of allegiance to the British side, history considers him to have been the best general and most accomplished leader in the Continental Army. His many battle successes up and down the Adirondack Coast - at Valcour Island, Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga, to name a few - are considered to be vitally critical to the winning of the war. He was such a pain in the ass to the British that it's amazing that they were willing to not only take him in but make him a Brigadier General, give him a very generous annual pension, and a huge "signing bonus" for switching sides.

Comments

[Takeyce Walter]

Beautiful image.