Archaeologists have recovered the final known fragment of a Revolutionary War cannon from the bottom of Lake Champlain, bringing to a close a decades-long search and helping complete the archaeological record of America’s earliest naval battle.
The fragment was recovered 27 years and five days after the first section of the cannon was discovered, marking a significant milestone in the study of the Battle of Valcour Island, fought on 11 October 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.
Researchers believe the newly recovered piece is the same fragment that fatally wounded Lieutenant Thomas Rogers during the battle. Rogers was later remembered by his widow in a simple inscription that stated he died “in the service of his Country and in the cause of Liberty”.
The discovery comes on the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence and it’s a poignant reminder of the people whose sacrifices shaped the fabric of the nation’s story.
The recovery was carried out as part of a Centre for Maritime Archaeology & Conservation (CMAC) project led by Texas A&M University’s Nautical Archaeology Program (NAP). The work was conducted with permission from the New York State Museum in collaboration with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and the Naval History and Heritage Command. Funding for the project was provided by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) and the International Nautical Archaeology Foundation (INAF).
The Clinton County Historical Association hosted a lakeside ceremony to commemorate both the recovery and the Battle of Valcour Island, recognising the significance of the discovery.
This season’s fieldwork was co-directed by NAP faculty members Christopher Dostal and Carolyn Kennedy. The team included former Valcour Bay Research Project co-principal investigator Ed Scollon, who discovered the first New York cannon fragment in 1999, alongside Texas A&M graduate students Sean Crowley and Addison Costa, East Carolina University graduate students Christian Gunter and Ethan Whiten, Texas A&M undergraduate Samantha Chastain, and NAP alumna Laura White.
The recovery was also attended by Arthur Cohn, Director Emeritus of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and principal investigator of the Valcour Bay Research Project from 1999 to 2004. Christopher Sabick, Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and a NAP alumnus, joined the team to mark the occasion and deliver remarks on behalf of the museum.
Project leaders also credited NAP alumnus and INA director Josh Daniel with making the discovery possible. Daniel employed the latest magnetometer survey techniques during the 2025 field season to locate the last cannon fragment, which had eluded archaeologists for decades despite extensive searches with metal detectors.
The recovery completes the known archaeological record of the cannon nearly 250 years after the Battle of Valcour Island, and scholars now have new insight into one of the most significant naval engagements of the American Revolution.
Sources : Centre for Maritime Archaeology & Conservation (CMAC)
