In the years leading to the current 250th anniversary commemorations of 1776, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has focused its Lake Champlain archaeology research activities on the American Revolution.
The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance will host Chris Sabick, Executive Director of the Museum, for a presentation entitled “Underwater Archaeology of the American Revolution on Lake Champlain”, on Thursday, March 19, starting at 7 pm in the Holiday Inn Resort in Lake George.
The event is free to the public. To ensure sufficient space, those planning to attend are requested to RSVP in advance by registering at the following email address: info@lakegeorgebattlefield.org.
In this presentation Chris Sabick 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) in particular.
Archaeological excavations at Valcour Bay and Arnold’s Bay, plus 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.
As Americans pay greater attention to the nation’s origins, enhanced by the recent Ken Burns PBS documentary and commemorations of key early milestones in the rebellion like the taking of Fort Ticonderoga and Henry Knox’s Noble Artillery Train, Sabick notes, “The archaeological study of the shipwrecks and battlefields of the American Revolution is helping to refine our understanding of these pivotal events.” He adds, “Archaeology provides a window into the past that is not readily available from historical documents alone.”
Chris Sabick joined the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in 1999 and has served since 2023 as its Executive Director. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology/History from Ball State University, and a Master of Arts in Anthropology from Texas A & M.
He has contributed his expertise to the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance since the early 2000s in the conservation of artifacts unearthed in the park during David Starbuck’s archaeological explorations and, currently, by advising on the potential re-establishment of a Submerged Heritage Preserve in Lake George.
The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance is a not-for-profit organization of volunteers who have an abiding interest in the Lake George Region’s critical role in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.
The Alliance manages the Battlefield Park’s Visitor Center and sponsors events throughout the year that educate the public about the site and its unique history.
It is working closely with the Town of Lake George and State of New York on the “Repose of the Fallen” project, which will reinter in May 2026 the remains of 44 Continental Army soldiers and support personnel in the Battlefield Park.
For more information, visit www.lakegeorgebattlefield.org.
Illustration:Carlton T Chapman’s “The Battle of Lake Champlain,” 1925 (courtesy Fort Ticonderoga).
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