4 unknowns plaqueLake George, NY – The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance is hosting guided tours this Saturday (June 20) of the burial sites in the park from two 18th Century wars in which the Lake George-Lake Champlain Region was a key area of contention among French, Native American, British and American combatants. “The Fallen Heroes of Lake George Battlefield Park” tour is being presented at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM that day as a feature of the I LOVE NY Path through History Weekend.

The event is free to the public. The tours commence at the Battlefield Park Visitor Center, 75 Fort George Road, Lake George. They are being led by Andrew Menzie, Director of Historic Interpretation for Fort William Henry, and John DiNuzzo, President of the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance.

The hallowed grounds of the Battlefield Park are home to two iconic memorials that contrast their serene setting, adjacent to the majestic “Queen of American Lakes”, with the violence and suffering that the French & Indian War (1755-1763) and the American Revolution (1775-1783) generated. Four unknown soldiers killed during the Battle of Lake George (1755) were reinterred at Battlefield Park in 1935. On May 22 of this year, a ceremonial reburial of 44 individuals who died of smallpox at the

Continental Army general hospital at Lake George in 1776 took place in five newly installed columbaria. That “Repose of the Fallen” ceremony was the culmination of a seven-year planning process led by the Town of Lake George, New York State, and the Battlefield Park Alliance after the remains were uncovered during a construction project in Lake George village.

Each one-hour tour will visit the two burial sites and present the stories of the deceased, including the military units they represented, whom they fought against, the circumstances of their deaths, and the deliberations that led to their ultimate final resting place being in Lake George Battlefield Park.

###

About the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance: The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance is a not-for-profit organization of volunteers who have an abiding interest in the Lake George Region’s critical role in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The Alliance manages the Battlefield Park’s Visitor Center and sponsors events throughout the year that educate the public about the site and its unique history. It is also the steward for the Battlefield Park’s iconic memorials, including the recently dedicated “Repose of the Fallen” reburial site of 44 Continental Army personnel who perished at Lake George in 1776, and three refurbished bronze sculptures that depict important moments of the region’s history. For more information, visit www.lakegeorgebattlefield.org.