br On September 11, 1814, an American naval squadron under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough defeated a formidable British force on Lake Champlain under the command of Captain George Downie, effectively ending the British invasion of the Champlain Valley during the War of 1812. This decisive battle had far-reaching repercussions in Canada, the United States, England, and Ghent, Belgium, where peace talks were under way. Examining the naval and land campaign in strategic, political, and military terms, from planning to execution to outcome, iThe Battle of Lake Champlain ioffers the most thorough account written of this pivotal moment in American history. p For decades the Champlain corridor--a direct and accessible invasion route between Lower Canada and the northern United States--had been hotly contested in wars for control of the region. In exploring the crucial issue of why it took two years for the United States and Britain to confront each other on Lake Champlain, historian John