Point. Competent critics of the war have held that what Arnold
now did saved the Revolution. In another scene, before the summer
ended, the British had taken New York and made themselves masters
of the lower Hudson. Had they reached in the same season the
upper Hudson by way of Lake Champlain they would have struck
blows doubly staggering. This Arnold saw, and his object was to
delay, if he could not defeat, the British advance. There was no
road through the dense forest by the shores of Lake Champlain and
Lake George to the upper Hudson. The British must go down the
lake in boats. This General Carleton had foreseen and he had
urged that with the fleet sent to Quebec should be sent from
England, in sections, boats which could be quickly carried past
the rapids of the Richelieu River and launched on Lake Champlain.
They had not come and the only thing for Carleton to do was to
build a flotilla which could carry an army up the lake and attack
Crown Point. The thing was done but skilled workmen were few and
not until the 6th of October were the little ships afloat on Lake
Champlain. Arnold, too, spent the summer in building boats to
meet the attack and it was a strange turn in warfare which now
made him commander in a naval fight. There was a brisk struggle
on Lake Champlain. Carleton had a score or so of vessels; Arnold
not so many. But he delayed Carleton. When he was beaten on the
water he burned the ships not captured and took to the land. When
he could no longer hold Crown Point he burned that place and
retreated to Ticonderoga.

By this time it was late autumn. The British were far from their
base and the Americans were retreating into a friendly country.
There is little doubt that Carleton could have taken Fort
Ticonderoga. It fell quite easily less than a year later. Some of