Schumer Visits Lake George Battlefield Park, Reaffirms Support for Reinterment of “Original Patriots”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer paid a visit on Monday, August 28th to Lake George Battlefield Park, and pledged his continued support of efforts by community officials to rebury on Park grounds the remains of more than 40 Continental soldiers discovered at Lake George four years ago.

The Senator reviewed the proposed reinterment site with Dan Barusch – Director of Planning for the Town of Lake George, and Chair of the local committee that is spearheading the effort for a respectful reburial of the soldiers’ remains. They were joined by committee members Marisa Muratori of the Lake George Town Board, and John DiNuzzo, President of the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance.

“As we approach the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation, it is important that we honor our country’s original patriots. That’s why I have called on the U.S. Army to help facilitate the reinterment of the remains found of Revolutionary War soldiers in the village of Lake George back in 2019,” said Senator Schumer. “In my recent visit to Lake George Battlefield Park, I was impressed by the devotion of local leaders to preserving and promoting the significance that this region has had on the birth of America, and of course, the spectacular beauty of the grounds. I am proud to support the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance and local officials’ efforts to honor these Continental Army soldiers with the burial they deserve, and I am hopeful that the Army will endorse this effort as well.”

The proposal for the reinterment of the soldiers’ remains in the Battlefield Park, near where four unknown soldiers from the French & Indian War are buried, requires the approval of the U.S Army and the State of New York. Lake George Battlefield Park was the site in 1776 of the Continental Army’s largest field hospital that treated those affected by a smallpox epidemic.

“There is tremendous local support to bring these soldiers ‘home’ to the Battlefield Park – where they drew their last breaths – for their final resting place,” stated Dan Barusch. “We are actively in the process of getting all the necessary approvals. Senator Schumer’s endorsement of the reinterment proposal and his recommendations for its design are of great value to us.”

Senator Schumer also viewed displays at the Battlefield Park Visitor Center that tell the story of the site’s key role during both the French & Indian War and the American Revolution: “Senator Schumer expressed his great love of New York’s history, connecting Alexander Hamilton and his father-in-law, Philip Schuyler, to the hospital that was on these grounds,” John DiNuzzo remarked. “The Senator enjoyed ‘talking history’ with us. His knowledge of the Revolutionary era was very evident!”