The Battle of Plattsburgh was not the small battle it has been claimed to be, and is in fact sometimes credited as the turning point of the War of 1812. The British were bringing a fleet of warships down Lake Champlain, while a large contigent of British soldiers marched towards Plattsburgh itself. Commodore MacDonnough led a group of American warships to meet the British on the lake outside of Plattsburgh. When the two fleets met, MacDonnough anchored his ships keeping them stationary, while using the sails to rotate the ships, so a fresh battery of guns could always be brought to bear upon the british ships. The British commander was killed when the cannon he was sighting was hit by an American cannonball which knocked the cannon on top of him, crushing him. The faster rate of American fire eventually beat back the superior firepower of the British fleet, and the English soldiers retreated back towards Canada due to the loss of their support fleet, ending a drive to split the United States. No actual shots were fired on land. | 
