Whitehall's Naval Heritage Weekend/Arnold's Navy

About this event

Saturday, October 3 features a distinguished panel of nationally recognized historians and authors discussing Benedict Arnold, the northern campaign, the Battle of Valcour Bay, and more. The morning program includes: 

Jack Kelly is an award-winning historian and author of God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America’s Most Hated Man (2023), which offers a fresh perspective on Arnold’s transformation and was praised by Kirkus Reviews as “a dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution.” Previous work also relevant to this event includes Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty (2021). The Wall Street Journal described as “vividly written” noting that in “novelistic prose, Mr. Kelly conveys the starkness of close-quarter naval warfare, where retreat was impossible.”

Jim Nelson is a former professional mariner and author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction, including Benedict Arnold’s Navy: The Ragtag Fleet That Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain but Won the American Revolution, which explores Arnold’s shipbuilding efforts at Skenesborough (modern-day Whitehall) and the naval campaign that shaped the course of the war in the North.

Charles P. Neimeyer, Ph.D., is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and historian. After a 20-year military career that included service at Headquarters Marine Corps, the White House, and as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval War College, he retired from active duty in 1996. He later served as a professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College and as Director and Chief of Marine Corps History from 2006 to 2018. An accomplished author, his works include America Goes to War: A Social History of the Continental Army, 1775–1783, The Revolutionary War, War Comes to the Chesapeake, and Marines in Crisis. He remains active in education as an adjunct professor for the Naval War College and Georgetown University.

Chris Sabick is a renowned nautical archaeologist who has devoted his career to uncovering and preserving the hidden stories of America’s maritime past. He has led groundbreaking research on Revolutionary War shipwrecks, including the gunboat Spitfire and Benedict Arnold’s flagship, the row galley Congress. Prior to being appointed Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum he was the Director of Research and Archaeology.

Joseph W. Zarzynski is a maritime archaeologist, a Fellow in the Royal Geographical Society, and is author of Ghost Fleet Awakened: Lake George’s Sunken Bateaux of 1758 (SUNY Press, 2019), a book about the historical significance of a sunken French & Indian War fleet.  His fieldwork with Bateaux Below, an underwater archaeology team, was instrumental in the discovery and historic preservation of the 1758 Land Tortoise radeau, described by historian Dr. Russell P. Bellico as "North America’s oldest intact warship."  As co-founder of Bateaux Below, Zarzynski's team spent years studying shipwrecks in Lake George.  He is author of eight books, including Fort William Henry’s Moments in Time (High Peaks Publishing, 2023).  His presentation, “Repurposing Historic Wood: When Relic Hunters Took Wood from the Royal Savage Shipwreck and Other Nearby Heritage Sites,” explores the late 19th- and early 20th-century practice of salvaging timbers from Revolutionary War sites—such as Benedict Arnold’s Royal Savage schooner and the Great Floating Bridge at Ticonderoga.  Mr. Zarzynski's talk will likewise examine the cultural motivations for repurposing historic wood and how that practice fortunately ended.

Please note, the speakers are listed in alphabetical order and not necessarily the order of their presentation. The schedule will be released at later date. Admission is $20 per person and free for youth 18 and under. Guests can pay at the door/cash only.

Following the speaker series, Riverside Park transforms into a vibrant celebration of history, featuring family-friendly activities, interactive education, and live entertainment, including a formal awards ceremony, color guard presentation, music, and community showcases. Designed to engage visitors of all ages, the afternoon programming will bring Whitehall’s naval heritage to life through both ceremony and celebration. Be sure to visit Skene Manor, Skenesborough Museum, and The Whitehall Castle (former armory)

A BBQ ($15 per person) will be held at American Legion Post #83, 148 Main Street, Whitehall. Guests are welcome to attend the event if they did not participate in the morning lectures, and participation in the speaker series and the BBQ is entirely optional — attendees may choose one or both. 

Saturday afternoon will transform Whitehall into a vibrant celebration of history, featuring family-friendly activities, interactive education, and live entertainment, including a formal awards ceremony, color guard presentation, music, and community showcases. Designed to engage visitors of all ages, the afternoon programming will bring Whitehall’s naval heritage to life through both ceremony and celebration