The Gunboat Philadelphia

2026-07-22

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In 1935, a diver searching Lake Champlain found something extraordinary: a nearly intact warship from the American Revolution. It was the Gunboat Philadelphia. In this episode, we dive into the story of how a ragtag American army built a fleet of ships to stand up against the British Navy in 1776 ... and lost. But that loss changed the course of U.S. history. So, how did Benedict Arnold and a bunch of sailors who had never been on a boat before turn the tide in the Revolutionary War? Listen, and find ...

In 1935, a diver searching Lake Champlain found something extraordinary: a nearly intact warship from the American Revolution. It was the Gunboat Philadelphia. In this episode, we dive into the story of how a ragtag American army built a fleet of ships to stand up against the British Navy in 1776 ... and lost. But that loss changed the course of U.S. history.

So, how did Benedict Arnold and a bunch of sailors who had never been on a boat before turn the tide in the Revolutionary War? Listen, and find out!

Guests:

Jennifer Jones, Curator and Project Director for the Gunboat Philadelphia Preservation Project at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Kenneth Cohen, Chair of the Curatorial Division of Military and Society, and Curator of Early American History at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

This episode received support from Smithsonian's Our Shared Future: 250, a Smithsonian-wide initiative commemorating the nation's 250th. Major support for Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250 has been provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. Additional generous contributions have been made by Target, Caterpillar Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.

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