REVOLUTIONARY WAR GUNBOAT TO BE RAISED

More than two decades after it was discovered at the bottom of Lake Champlain, a Revolutionary War gunboat will be raised, preserved and displayed for the public.

The Spitfire, a 54-foot boat that’s part of a fleet built by Benedict Arnold before he turned traitor, sank a day after the 1776 Battle of Valcour Island, which helped delay a British advance down the lake.

The Spitfire was found during a 1997 sonar survey of the lake. Museum divers check on it yearly. Its mast is still erect and the bow cannon still in the firing position. The ammunition and other artifacts from the battle are buried in mud.

For almost 250 years, the Spitfire has been protected by the cold water of the lake.