Departures of note

In 1777, fifteen‑year‑old Ephraim Webster served as a private in the Continental Army. Commanders of Fort Ticonderoga called on him to volunteer with another soldier to swim Lake Champlain and carry dispatches to General Lincoln near Mount Independence, Vermont.

The two‑mile swim took place in late autumn when the water was cold. They departed one evening and feared they would not survive; Webster completed the duty, nearly lost his life, and was rescued by his companion Wallace of Thetford.