Revolutionary War Soldiers Reburied with Full Honors at Lake George

Over Memorial Day weekend 2026, more than 40 Revolutionary War-era soldiers were reburied with full military honors at Lake George Battlefield Park’s new Repose of the Fallen memorial. The remains, uncovered in 2019 during construction, traveled 60 miles from the New York State Museum in Albany in a motorcade of vintage military vehicles.

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The burial site was a makeshift smallpox hospital at Fort George, used during the 1775–1776 Quebec Campaign. Although Lake George is better known for the 1755 French-and-Indian War battle at Fort William Henry, the Revolutionary-War graves remained a footnote until the recent discovery.

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In 2019, unmarked graves were found, and pewter buttons from the First Pennsylvania Battalion dated the remains. Salvage excavations by the New York State Museum, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation ran through 2020. Scientific analysis of the 44 skeletal remains continued until 2025. The reinterment ceremony occurred in May 2026 during Memorial Day weekend.

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Scientists identified 44 individuals, most young men in their teens and twenties, plus a woman and a child. Artifacts such as pewter military buttons confirmed the remains belong to the Revolutionary-War period.

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Museum officials, including curator Lisa Anderson and executive director Jennifer Saunders, said the reinterment provides long-overdue dignity and remembrance for the soldiers and aligns with the nation’s approaching semiquincentennial, reflecting a renewed commitment to honor early American service members.

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• “They were predominantly young, in their teens and twenties, probably recent recruits in the fight for independence,” — Lisa Anderson, Curator of Bioarchaeology

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• “As our nation approaches its semiquincentennial, their reinterment carries profound meaning — an act of dignity, remembrance, and gratitude,” — Jennifer Saunders, Executive Director

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• “Conditions at the hospital at Fort George were not like we think of hospitals today,” Anderson said in a recent lecture about the discovery.” — Lisa Anderson

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• “While they did not live to see the end of the American Revolution, it is fitting they will finally receive a dignified burial 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” — Jennifer Saunders

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The ceremony links contemporary Americans to individual stories of the Revolutionary War, reinforcing historical memory as the United States marks its 250th anniversary of independence and showcasing archaeology’s role in uncovering overlooked chapters of early American history.

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The New York State Museum plans exhibitions of the recovered artifacts and continued research on the interred soldiers as part of semiquincentennial programming.

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Sources agree on 44 remains, yet the ceremony is described as honoring “more than 40” soldiers, a minor numeric discrepancy. No further gaps were identified.

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