As always, after having completed one model (or during the last phase of its building), I start to "look around"  for a new subject to model.

Usually, in those research for a new model, I always take a look in the model shop of Rome, other that read and consult books and publication about ships and ship modelling.

In one of those model shops, I have found a kit, from italian firm  AMATI of an  American Gunboat of 1814, named   ARROW (but it's a fantasy name).

This gunboat is like an galley, oars and sails powered and hited my attention, probably for the nice pic on the top pf the box kit, and also for the strange arrangement of weapons: one gun at bow and one carronade at the stern, mounted on something that resemble circular wooden rails, to permit the firing on a very large arc (more than 200° )

I asked for the drawings for this gunboat, but the shop owner told me that are not available...so I decided to buy the kit and after a little talk, I got it. The price of kit was about 80$.

Once at home, looking inside the box kit, I found that,  in this case, the building from a kit could be a nice change from my standard scratch building approach... and probably the time could be less... what a mistake!! If you want to make something good, you've to take always the right time, and in the ship modelling the time should be not a constrain!!!

So, I have started to build this model and, going on step by step, I have found that I could apply here some of the techniques I have used on the past models. I have decided also that this models should be weathered much more than other models in the past. And I started so to study also weathering techniques for models from magazines and books.

I have also read some books and ship modelling magazines (like Seaway's Ships in Scale, Model Ship Builder,   Model Shipwright) to better understand the historical period and the background of the American-English War of 1812, and in in particular to know much more about the Battle of Lake Champlain (11 September 1814) and the ships that were envolved from both fronts.

The model represents a gunboat of the American Fleet that fought the battle on Lake Champlain. This kind of gunboats-galleys (knowed as "row galleys") played an very important role for the win of the battle. They were little, but powerful, very fast to sail and to manouvre. This kind of gunboat was armed with one gun and one carronade. The lateen rig and sails, that resemble a clear medierranean influence, makes of this gunboat and intersting and unusual model.

Is interesting to note that in the battle there was an american row galley named "Burrows"   that resembles the name "Arrow" of the Amati's kitl.

Short History

August 1814 : Washingtn, capital of United States of America has been devasted, the american army defeated and the government is escaping from the town.

The English Army, commanded by John Sherbrooke, land on the Maine coasts and occuped , with an incredibly speed, a very large territory : more than 100.000 squared kilometers of country. The spirit of Independence War seems to be lost, but, as in many other periods along his history, the worse moment gives to the American people the force to the revenge.

The revenge starts the 11th September 1814, in the little town of Plattsburgh, on the shores of Lake Champlain. The objective of English troops is to divide in two the United States, making to follow the landing on Maine an attack from Canada, along the Lake Champlain, the natural communication road between Montreal and the State of New York.

The English fleet, headed by the Captain Geoge Downie, is composed by 16 warships, with a total of more than 100 guns, while the American Fleet, slightly inferior for number of ships and armament, is headed by an exceptional commander : Thomas Mac Donough.

At that time, Mac Donough was just 31 years old, but he had given  test of his own abilities during the Tripoli campaign (1801-1805), driving the commando that had destroyed the frigate Philadelphia, captured and rearmed by pirates.

To the down of 11 September 1814, began the battle of Lake Champlain.

Initially the English Fleet sailed towards suth, but the ships of Mac Donough blocked their track and there was a fighting after which four English units were seriously damaged and were force to surrender, while the other remained English ships abandoned the battle theatre.

The American victory had the effect to demoralize the English troops that abandoned the ide to attack the fortifications of Splattburgh, that had been already  damaged.  The English troops returned to their camps and, during the night, they crossed the Canadian border, that was not recrossed anymore.

Ship's Data 

Commissioned : 181..
Launched :   181??

Dimensions

Lenght : 25   mt.
Width  : 4,5 mt.   

Armament :
   *   1 x 24 lb  Carronade at stern
   *   1 x 24 lb  Gun at bow

Model's Data

Lenght :  47  cm o.a.
Width  : 8,3 cm 
Height :  27 cm

Scale :   1:55
Building method :  Plank on bulkheads

References and sources :

* Model Kit "Arrow Guboat" - by Amati - Italy - Scale 1/55

* "Lake Champlain Gunboat" - Article by James L. Stokesbury on Model Ship Builder n. 090 - August 1994 - (pages 12-16)

* "The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and Gondola Philadelphia"  - Article by Bob Malcomson on Model Ship Builder n. 110 - Noveber 1997 (pages 31-35)

* "Lake Champlain Fleets"  - Article by D.H. Angolano on Seaway's Ships in Scale - Vol. VII - N. 2 - March 1996 (pages 21-25)

*  "Gunboats on Lake Ontario in 1812 war" - Article in three parts  by Bob Malcomson on Seaway's Ships in Scale - Vol. VII - N. 1 - January 1996 (pages 31-37);  Vol.  VII - N. 2 - March 1996 (pages 27-31); Vol VII - N. 3 - May 1996 (pages 40-44)