we have learned to take water for granted. bottled walter, and flush toilets reinforce the same unlimited is an resource. step outside to the local diminishing the condition tells a different story. it kills marine life, destroys and disrupts a fragile food chain and animals are not the only ones that effects of egative water pollution. congress, in 2014, you must federal funding to waste water treatment agencies across the country. is life blood of our nation tainted with the negligence of generations. and it must stop here. >> join us wednesday during washington journal for the theme the 2015 c-span student cam documentary competition. each week, american history tv's

visits n artifacts" museums in historic places. 2 200 years ago, forces clashed 2 1/2 hours near cumberland bay near plattsburgh, new york. next, we travel to plattsburgh where retired army david fitz-enz the author of "the final invasion" war of 1812 takes us to the battle. he goes to kilo occasions to story.he >> pilot, joseph baron, ship, september 11, 1814. attle of plattsburgh in cumberland bay. you know, this is a battle history.st to american if the first 100th anniversary, t was known by everyone this was a huge celebration. people knew how important the battle of platts burge was. in the meantime, things have

changed. that poem became the national anthem. center of a in the populated area and people have been taught what took place there. there was lace important but it was a diversion. the real battle was up here. the british can take plattsburgh, there's no troops between here and washington, d.c. there's no american -- the cavalry is not coming. and with plattsburgh gone, they can sweep down the lake, they can go on to lake george and on to the hudson and they can split the united states in half. meantime, the treaty talks are on. and this is a bargaining chip. off u can take plattsburgh of the northern border of the united states, wherever the british troop lines are at the while these negotiations are going on, that's going to be

the new northern border. they hey had in mind, didn't plan to take the united states again, this is not another revolution, what they wanted a new ey northern border for the united states. ot the 45th parallel, but the 43rd. they wanted the northern border f massachusetts to be the border of the northern united states. and you know, if you take that ine and you run it across the country, you take that parallel, you end up in buffalo. that means the united states would have lost maine, new vermont, and all of the north. they would have lost control of the great lakes. they were after. but plattsburgh put a stop to that. in the ish army is not united states. the british army is back in canada. o the treaty is signed on christmas eve, 1814, the status quo is what we see today.

miles north of plattsburgh, new york looking up the road at border.rican-canadian it was here that the whole battle of plattsburgh began. of me give you a little bit background first. when the war of napoleon ended of 1814, the british had a problem. ellington wanted to keep the victorious army intact because he thought he needed it again and he will need it again in 1815, he was right. but no one saw his vision. and if he let it alone, when the to england, it would probably be disbanded, you know? away, there'sgoes no need for a democratic society to fund a very expensive army they would simply go away. them, he r to keep went to lord bathhurst, the secretary of war, and the i've got of war said this other problem.

american war of 1812 and i'd like to put it to an end. those to trade with people. we need to have it to our advantage. get out of the war when it's over. he said give me your troops. gave him 30,000 total of the army sitting in france drinking in the cellars that they could find. and they put them on ships and a order was written and sent to the lieutenant general perveau, the lieutenant general of canada. the united 812 in states for the past two years. he had been defending all that time. thehe had a chance to go on offensive because this new order said we're going to do two in our o end this war favor, in england's favor. thee going to use a part of raid gton's forces to along the eastern seaboard in the united states and down to

the gulf of mexico. eep the american government, the people, the military's attention focused to the south. but in the north, we're going attack. the main we're going get you -- give you the numbers in order to bring whole conflict to an end. and so the order said that he 15,000 troops and he could add to the 4,000 that he already had because it had for the last two years. they weren't just british oldiers in canada, they were also the canadian regimen made citizens who agreed to fight alongside the but only in canada. they added their numbers to the canada.forces to with theltagiers along carbiniers added to the force. army he could take on the offensive instead of the

defense. simply was he was going to use -- we're going plan 1777, he was going to go straight south down lake new york, you know, that's a water line. because there were no roads to of in these days. he went past saratoga to new ork harbor, split the industrial north and the agrarian south. that's his intention. past the american force in plattsburgh. plattsburgh has 6,000 american of them are , most regs. of hisets up a diversion own. he sends the troops west for a little while and gets the ttention of the american government the secretary of war says they're not going to go down lake champlain. to go here and continue to fight in northern

ew york along lake erie in to niagara. and so armstrong shifts the army.can he pulls of the 6,000 troops 4500.are here, he pulls out of plattsburgh. he pulls them out of the last week of august and sends himself to the mohawk valley and up the to sacramentos arbor and up a ship to the niagara. it leaves 1500 regulars. who hey are the people couldn't make the march. tease are prisoners in the stockade. is here. so that's what's left mind. is what's going to be defending on this road. when perveau finds out that he american army has left, he starts his attack. he moves those soldiers fewer 15,000 to the canadian border and right on the edge of

ake champlain, he crosses the border on the first of september and they begin to march south plattsburgh. plattsburgh is 25 miles south of border.adian the pile is 10 miles long. the artillery doesn't cross the until the fourth of september. took four days to move south at all. they come.is road here to few new york state militia are standing by at this little bridge. when they see them coming, they muskets in e their their direction. but the british -- they don't packs.rop their the first regiments rushed this militia d the american retire quickly about 1,000 yards head.e road to culver the british are advancing on the egular army here at culver hair. this memorial commemorates that event.

here several thousand british oldiers, the first of the regiments, the third regiment on canterbury ts from came down the road and confronted john wool, john, a major in the united states army, had brought 200 of his troops here and attempted to stop the gaining dvance while information as to what in the world we were facing at this point. the battle broke out here and quite a bit of fighting took place. number of casualties here. but the british were not halted at all. americans harged the here at the top of the rise at hill.r and the americans had to withdraw and withdraw and for the rest of the withdraw steadily back into the city. british column came down this road, the farmers here along the road were surprised to see at the end of the column, at

day, the women and children of the british rr rr rry -- infantry reg meants, before they went to go to combat, the night before, lottery held and all of the wives put their names in he hat and one out of ten was selected to travel with the regimen no matter where they world. the they brought their children, they embarked onboard the ships, travelled across the owings, to canada and walked down this road. you know what their job was -- troops.e the support they're the ones at night set up the tents, got the firewood, fire, cooked the food. took care of the chirp. cleaned the uniforms with brushes. nd, of course, they were the medical corps. there were doctors, british corpsmen.nd a few but they tended to the

casualties. families women, the of the soldiers of the regimens the wounded. 10 years ago, this was a field. local citizens were really interested in trying to preserve the history here. ceremony.tle the lady who live in the white farmhouse was very interested in story. we talked to her about it. she put it in her will. parcel of ed, this land would be given to the battle of plattsburgh and the this town of beakmantown built this so we here all see what happened on this momentous day in culver hill. home where theod british artillery officer stayed battle ive days at the of plattsburgh. after they ran the american

they'll copt down this edge of the lake. here they're going to have a force in two because the road will not sustain their traffic. and this brigade will travel along the edge of the bay and into plattsburgh. we're here on the edge of cumberland bay. the trees is a road. and that road is what enabled he british to bring all of the troops to the town. one of the four bre gayeds, troops came along that line over there. the american navy is out here in the bay waiting for them. i saw the column marching along in the red coats, they began to bombard them. the british column was broken up and stopped. british royal artillery came up behind them and they set six pou uns and the pounders just decimated the

out here, the force was set to withdraw and go deeper in the lake. would reduce the american navy's ability to support the army because now they're going away from the soreline. once the american navy was moved british could freely enter here the town of plattsburgh. they came down this road, around corner, and end up putting a battery of artillery right this here. the officers will take over the delord house as their billet. relentlessly rmy drove the americans back down into the city. some of the british troops came along this line here. they were the regimen under colonel demuron. missionaries s working for the swiss government along with the canadian voltagiers. right along the edge of the

the stone er to bridge, americans fought their way all the way to the bridge. once on the bridge, they picked up the planks so that the french, the voltagiers couldn't follow them, cannon and setir it up on the far side of the barricade. the infantry from the 6th to the 11th waiting for the british main attack. at the battle of plattsburgh museum. army post here since the war of 1812. a depiction of what the land looked like. important to understand. it's a very complex battle. the battle is both army and navy and occurred simultaneously without an amphibious assault, very unusual. here is what the city of plattsburgh looked like. enemy, the british were

from the point through the bridge and all of looked like world war i in all along here the p, the entrenched.re they weren't strong enough. the remnants were the remnants of the larger force left behind. hey couldn't fight it in the field. they fought from trenches. they used the river, and it some five days. as the trenches flowed further seranac uth along the river, we come to the second street ere at katherine today. and that's where the british line stopped. defended the cans bridge, defended the bridge for some five days. is ft. brown. ft. brown is the artillery osition that was heavily cannoned and was able to keep the british away by firing into

city. out in the bay, on the right army, is he american where the american navy ships the be moored waiting for british to come in to attack the army's flank. to keep them is away. and here you can see them all ducks, moored, waiting for the royal navy to attack. >> this is the rotunda of the city hall of the town of plattsburgh. to get back to the history, if he were in command here, and he was offered command here. he turned it down, he said the only chance for victory in north merica was to control the waterways. so everything is key to the navy here. troops ugh the american are here waiting and the british

troops have fought their way in on he city and are waiting the edge of the serenac river, which is not fordable, there's bridges across, they're waiting for the navy. long his is a bit of a story. but this is how we get here. the royal navy was everything to the british. and they used it throughout the the united states and canada. their what controlled commerce. and they lived on commerce. here on the lake, commerce had disrupted. nothing was going up and down the lake to benefit canada or anywhere else. and the people here who lived on the lake had created a new ndustry because of the embargoes that had been put in place. this now was a smuggler's haich. now the british knew to control had to take , they lake champlain. but they had no ships. but the lake does end in cap da. there on the richilu

yard., they built a boat that boat yard then created the largest ship that has ever been champlain. she was a friggot. she was called the compliance or confiance. it's true they captured two american vessels two years the war and converted it to british use. a smaller one other, one, a sloop called the linnet. they needed the confiance would be stronger than any other fleet on the lake. there was an american fleet here. commanded by lieutenant then plaster commander then thomas mcdonough. e had to build his fleet here on the lake as well. in otter creek in vermont, they together the americans. the american navy, then, would and keepntrol the lake the british north, admit there's

coming. you know, they're sitting ducks waiting for the british to come. navy is coming. they wanted to come south even earlier. they couldn't. wind coming upth the lake kept them from sailing south. this is the day to sail. there's no power. that's what the army and navy are waiting for. mcdonough doesn't have that problem. he's in the bay and he's moored and he's waiting. anxious.e getting finally, the night of the 10th, down the le to come lake, come south towards plattsburgh from canada, the fleet.world navy the ships, con confiance in lead. and a dozen gun boats in a row. 70 men in a gun boat. one cannon. the gun boats are supposed to guns and erneath the put holes in the side of the american fleet and sink them. around.got them buzzing when the british come into the bay and the whole thing starts,

the british guns can fire a mile and a half. the american guns can only shoot 500 yards. o if the british royal navy is kept away, if they can sail outside of the 500 yards, they reduce the american fleet to splinters in the matter of one. is faced at mcdonough with. he's 30 years old. he's the commodore. he's the commander of the american fleet. well, the time has come. confiance comes into the bay, the wind shifts. longer a northerly wind, it's a westerly wind. bay, the winds are fitful. that confiance and the other strong wind to carry them out beyond the american guns. and she comes into the bay, this is confiance's outer anchor. of the front by american cannons and sinks into

the bay. 1996 here in the bay, in 40 feet of silt. there she is. long, 10 feet wide. and if you look real close, you paint on see the gold the side that says quebec. anchor is shot off and commodore downey, the commander navy fleet and the captain of the ship tries to stay away from the american line, he can't. he's drawn directly into the american fire. nd no matter what he does to try to turn his ship and the ships on the line away, it can't be done. allow it.ill not he's drawn directly into the american fire. and timely he has to anchor at 300 yards. well within the americans' line of fire. for the next 2 1/2 hours, a cannon willattle of take place. 90 cannons firing.

never stopping. the major ships of americans, four british royal navy. either side sit out here in the middle of cumberland bay and will slug it out. bluff at clinton community college, you can look out on lake champlain. nd directly in front of you is cumberlain head. the island there and you see on if right, crab island, where the americans had hospital for the army, they attacked the american fleet at anchor, which would have been right between the two small trees. there are women onboard, wives, one of which catches a cannon ball in her overboard.s thrown mcdonough is sighting his own the british,ing at and down the line at one of the

guns, his lieutenant struck with the british cannon ball. the head was torn off. his head travels down the side mcdonough , strikes to the face, and knocks him cold to the deck. these are the kinds of things that happen. when you're fighting a naval battle. this keeps up for hours, one atrocity after the other, blood everywhere. tremendous casualties. the men keep fighting. then finally the american ship only fit to fight is saratoga. that's the flag ship of mcdonough. the only ship that's fit to confiance, the s british ship, even though downey was odore killed 10 minutes into the attle when mcdonough fired a cannon and it struck the muzzle f the gun that downey was sighting. he was kneeling behind it at the time.

and as the muzzle was hit by the cannon ball so hard that it 2,000-pound barrel out of the trunions and downey arms, killed is him, crushed him to the deck. he british lost the commander 10 minutes to the battle. so now, we've got mcdonough, who bad state, his ship is very badly wounded and about to sing. point, he put out anchors on the right and on the left. 250 are light anchors, pounds apiece. they were taken out on row boats and drops. they wound backwards around the ship. nd were connected to the capson. right moment, mcdonough cuts one cable, pulls in and only a ding it few crew members that are left.

spring line , the s pulled in, the ship rotates in place at its own axis. and, of course, exposes the far are of the ship where there 12 loaded caronades and cannons ready. an officer with a pistol goes and fires into the ouch hole and fired each gun confiance.ime into confiance receives 105 holes in the side of the ship when the is looked at in the end. colors.kes her she's lost. the royal navy has been beaten. preval silting up in the kent delord house looking colors lake sees the come down. and when he does, he knows the battle is lost. knows that he no longer has control of the water.

he knows that he doesn't have planned ton ships he capture to take the fleet down the lake. and there's no point going on with the battle. the infantry can overwhelm the american infantry at this point, there's no point to it at all. and he is going to save his troops to fight another day. and as a result, sir george withdraws from plattsburgh, pulling his troops out, the artillery, es, his his families, and they start heading north to canada. the battle is over. the americans have won. winston churchill said that it was the most important battle of the war. most decisive battle of the war of 1812. here. two days later, the british will fight the americans at baltimore. when the naval battle was over

the british withdrew, all that was left were the dead and and the american forces. out on the navy ships the and ed were taken off brought into town. kent delord house and other homes and treated. the dead were then put in a brought to the shore in plattsburgh and in a parade, led by general mcdonough, ommodore they slowly came here to just outside tery of the downtown area. to muffled drums, they marched slowly. and deliberately here to the courtage carried the body of royal navy captain

commodore george downey. riverside d here at cemeter cemetery. courtage were not just royal navy sailors, they army, dead, american sailors who had died in conflict, as well as british sailors who had died. 200 were taken to crab island it was close to where the ships were being refurbished and kept afloat. 200 or more were brought ere to riverside cemetery and buried. the eutenant peter gamble,

united states navy. officer whose head as severed and flew across the deck and struck mcdonough. stansbury, john battle of plattsburgh. he was onboard the eagle and was killed in action. this is kathy arges, he was british. career in studying history and being the student of wars, i never heard of the battle of plattsburgh. i was intrigued. the more i read, the more it me in. and i understood how important it was and what part it played history.ational lost, ttsburgh had been god knows what had happened to this country.