Show Rock Dunder Bombarded by British Fleet in 1776 Strangers who visit the Lake Champlain area and take the trip across the lake invariably inquire what that peculiar object is which rises above the waters of the lake several miles from Burlington It is Rock Dunder they are told relates a Burlington Vt cor cor- correspondent correspondent correspondent respondent in the New York Times Then this story which is accepted by local residents as the origin of the name is told On October 12 1776 a British fleet sailed up Lake Champlain on a close watch for American ships The British encountered the little fleet under Benedict Arnold near Valcour island and a spirited battle ensued The British ships were far superior to those of the Americans in size and carried heavier guns The little American fleet was badly battered After nightfall and in a thick fog the American ships slipped through the lines of the British and escaped But at some time tune during the night nighta a sentry on one of the British ships called out that he saw a ship through the fog Knowing that no British ship lay in that position the British commander thought Arnolds Arnold's fleet was trying to spring a surprise attack and ordered his guns to open fire Throughout hout the night the British guns gun boomed intermittently The i strange r ship remained in the same position As the shadows of the night were dispersed by the coming dawn so that it was possible to see more clearly the ship was disclosed as a huge rock rising from the surface of the lake The crestfallen British command command- commander e er in dismay attempted to utter the exclamation By thunder but was so excited that tha t he said in instead in- in instead stead ste d By dunder And the rock has been known as Rock Dunder ever since The rock rises 36 feet above the surface of the lake |