Battlefield Park Alliance reports banner year and major events on the horizon

The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance held its annual membership meeting this Saturday, August 9, at the Fort William Henry Hotel Conference Center, with approximately 50 members in attendance. Alliance President John DiNuzzo began the meeting by noting that membership grew 32 percent over the past year, and he attributed that growth to the many programs offered by the Alliance.

DiNuzzo summarized the past year’s accomplishments, which include refurbishing the monuments in Battlefield Park, the continuation of Professor Siobhan Hart’s archeological survey, the expansion of the Alliance’s publication “Fort George Post,” and the installation of historical signs on Diamond Island, an effort of Alliance Trustee Bruce Venter.

The Alliance Board of Trustees gave special recognition to Jane Murphy, Lorna Hainesworth, and Jerry and Ann Eichin for their generous contributions to the monument restoration project.

The Battlefield Park Visitor Center, which is operated by the Alliance, has seen a slight increase in visitors this year, DiNuzzo reports, even though the area has been experiencing a decrease in international tourism this summer.

With the Nation’s 250th birthday approaching, historical organizations across the country have been ramping up programs to commemorate significant American Revolution events, and the Alliance has 250^th events planned. Lake George, the site of the largest Revolutionary War-era smallpox hospital and a crucial leg of the British supply line between Canada and Albany, played a vital role in the War for Independence.

The Alliance will be joining in the 250^th anniversary celebration of Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery. Historians will reenact Knox’s journey from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, with Henry Knox arriving via bateau at the head of Lake George on December 12. The Alliance will be hosting a reception with Historian Rick Atkinson at the Holiday Inn Resort, Canada Street, Lake George, and a free public presentation by Atkinson at the Lake George High School in the evening that will include an introductory concert by the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra. Tickets for the reception will be available next month.

An event of national significance will be held on May 22, 2026, the unveiling of the reinterment project, the Repose of the Fallen. The Repose of the Fallen project, says DiNuzzo, will bring the area “to a whole new level, I think, of heritage tourism,” and elevate the Lake George History brand.

In February 2019, the remains of 44 individuals were disinterred during construction work on Courtland Street in the Village of Lake George. Archeologists later determined they were the remains of patients at the Revolutionary War-era smallpox hospital at Fort George. A coat button found in one of the graves was identified as belonging to a soldier with the 1^st Pennsylvania Battalion.

The Courtland Street Reinterment Committee has since been working to provide a respectful reinterment site in Battlefield Park. Alliance Trustee and Director of Planning and Zoning for the Town and Village of Lake George, Dan Barusch, gave members an update on the Repose of the Fallen project. The project includes a plaza with six columbaria on the East side of Fort George Road. Contractors have been selected for the work, and construction is expected to begin in September with a completion date of May 1, 2026.

The unveiling ceremony will be held on May 22, the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Barusch expects the ceremony to be attended by 1,000 people. New York State Senator Charles Shumer, who has been an ardent supporter of the project, will attend along with other federal officials. The Governor of New York is also expected along with local officials.

“I’m happy to say that our fundraising efforts, which started about a year ago, give or take, have raised over $100,00.” The Sons of the American Revolution, Trustees, and individuals made significant donations. In addition, the project was awarded $519,00 from the Town and Village of Lake George’s Downtown Revitalization grant.

The amount raised to date will cover construction costs. More funds are needed to cover the cost of the unveiling ceremony and long-term maintenance and care costs.

The Alliance meeting ended with a presentation by Matt Moore of Historical Military Impressions. Moore discussed the history of the 1^st Pennsylvania Battalion and the Northern Campaign of 1775-76.