The survival of the American Revolution for nearly three years between its outbreak in April 1775 and the Patriots’ cementing of an alliance with France in February 1778 required a combination of bravery, resourcefulness, British miscalculations, and providential strokes of luck. At the Battle of Valcour Island, which took place 250 years ago today, all of those factors would converge to give Americans not victory but breathing room to continue the fight. The trio of men who led that defense never got the grand military glory they felt they deserved.
I’ve previously recounted the four great turns in the strategic situation after Lexington and Concord:
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