Who commanded the American fleet at the Battle of Lake Champlain?

Captain Thomas Macdonough commanded the American fleet at the Battle of Lake Champlain.

The decisive naval action took place on September 11, 1814, during the wider Battle of Plattsburgh in the War of 1812. Macdonough’s squadron faced a British force commanded by Commodore George Downie. Fighting took place near Plattsburgh, New York, as British land forces under Sir George Prevost attempted to invade the northern United States.

Macdonough anchored his ships so they could use the prevailing wind and rotate into action. When his flagship, USS Saratoga, suffered damage on one side, he used springs and anchors to turn the vessel around and bring fresh guns to bear. The maneuver helped force the surrender of the British flagship HMS Confiance and the rest of the British squadron.

The American victory secured control of Lake Champlain and helped stop the British invasion. It also strengthened the U.S. negotiating position at the peace talks that produced the Treaty of Ghent. Oliver Hazard Perry, one of the wrong options, commanded the American fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie, not Lake Champlain.