‘Repose of the Fallen’ project on schedule for May dedication in Battlefield Park

Construction of the reinterment site for the Revolutionary War-era remains unearthed in the Village of Lake George is on schedule, announced Lake George officials in a press release. The remains were discovered on Courtland Street in February 2019 during a private construction project that cut through an unmarked 18th-century cemetery.

The “Repose of the Fallen” project, set on the east side of Fort George Road in Lake George Battlefield Park, will be the final resting place of the 44 individuals, who state archaeologists determined were associated with the Continental Army and were patients at the Fort George smallpox hospital in 1776.  

The memorial design includes six columbaria, a walking and seating plaza and interpretive signage. Contractors Peak Environmental and Eickhof Columbaria plan to complete their work by early May. Officials have planned a dedication ceremony for Friday, May 22, 2026, and expect a large crowd with local, state and federal leaders, members of historical organizations, and the public attending.

“Following the discovery of this forgotten Revolutionary War cemetery,’ says NY DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton, “DEC staff played a key role in recovering human remains and identifying a location at Lake George Battlefield State Park for their respectful reinterment. DEC Agency Preservation Officer Charles ‘Chuck’ E. Vandrei, Jr., was a champion of this effort before his passing. DEC is honored to join our state, municipal, and nonprofit partners to remember the lives of these Continental Army Soldiers and personnel and celebrate Chuck’s legacy as we embark upon the multi-year commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.”

Continental Army soldiers from New England, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania served in the Quebec Campaign of 1775-76. An early 1776 smallpox outbreak plagued the army as it retreated from Quebec City to Montreal, then south to Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga.

Soldiers and camp followers stricken with smallpox were transported by boat to the south end of Lake George, where the army established a large hospital at Fort George. through the summer of 1776, hundreds of soldiers died and were buried in unmarked cemeteries in and near what is now Lake George Village.

New York State Museum archaeologist Lisa Anderson, who oversaw the recovery of the remains, said, “Most of them were young men of military age in their teens and twenties, indicative of military-aged persons.” Several uniform buttons were recovered with the remains, including one that indicated it came from a 1^st Pennsylvania Battalion uniform. The Battalion is known to have participated in the Quebec Campaign. Anderson also identified the remains of two children, a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old. “This was not unexpected as we know families sometimes accompanied soldiers into war,” Anderson said at the Hallowing of the Ground ceremony held at the reinterment site in June 2024.

The “Repose of the Fallen” project was spearheaded by the Courtland Street Reinterment Committee, which was formed following the discovery of the remains to address the proposed reinterment. The committee works in conjunction with the Town and Village of Lake George, the NYS DEC, the NYS Museum and the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance. The project is funded by a state Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant and multiple private donors.