While the great fleets battled for international dominion on the ocean seas, the age of fighting sail also evolved in the interior of North America. For eighty years (roughly 1754-1834) freshwater was the home to warships that ranged in size from the simplest gunboat to a First Rate that could have held its own in Nelson's line of battle. This book presents the history of the navies developed by the French, British, and Americans on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, its primary objective being to provide the reader with a comprehensive description of the warships, their design and construction and their utilization during war and peace. Although armed sailing ships appeared on the lakes in the 1600s and their remains spawn intensive archeological investigation today, the specific period of study here ranges from 1754 until 1834. It was in 1754 that the British Admiralty issued instructions to commence building a naval presence on the lakes. In 1834 it formally closed the last of the establishments where the warships under sail had operated.