Presented by Saint Albans Museum & Vermont Humanities in Bliss Memorial Auditorium. This event is part of the series SAM Talks, a casual lecture series that is free and open to the public.

THE TALK

In the years running up to the current 250th commemorations of 1776, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has focused its research activities on the American Revolution. This presentation will share information on a number of previous, recent, and current research efforts focused on the Revolutionary War in general, and the Battle of Valcour Bay (October 1776) and its aftermath in particular. Archaeological excavations at Valcour Bay, Arnold’s Bay, and recent documentation and research efforts on the gunboat Spitfire will be discussed. The combination of historical research and archaeological evidence leads to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the pivotal events that took place on Lake Champlain in 1776.

THE SPEAKER

Christopher Sabick joined the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in 1998 as an intern, and returned for a full-time position in 1999. Since that time, he has also acted as an Archaeological Diver, Conservation Lab Director, and the Director of Research and Archaeology.

In November of 2023 Chris became the Executive Director of the organization. Chris earned a B.A. in History and Anthropology from Ball State University, and a M.A. from the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University. Chris has more than 25 years of experience leading the archaeological examination of underwater sites related to the military and commercial history of the northeastern United States and Canada.

Image: “The Battle of Lake Champlain” by Carlton T. Chapman, 1925.