Senator Charles Schumer spent part of the Senate’s August break visiting North Country projects, which included a stop at Lake George Battlefield Park on Monday, August 28, to discuss the reinterment project. In May, the Senator endorsed the Courtland Street Reinterment Committee’s proposal to rebury the remains of 40 Continental soldiers in the park, and Schumer used his Monday visit to review the proposed reinterment site. In 1776, Battlefield Park was the site of the Continental Army’s largest field hospital and treated victims of the smallpox epidemic. The remains were discovered in Lake George Village during a 2019 construction project on Cortland Street.
“As we approach the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation,” says Schumer, “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. “
Dan Barusch, Town of Lake George Planning Director and Chair of the Reinterment Committee, John DiNuzzo, Lake George Battlefield Park President, and Marisa Muratori, member of the Lake George Town Board, joined the Senator as he reviewed the reinterment plans and visited the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance Visitors Center.
“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,” DiNuzzo remarked. “The Senator enjoyed ‘talking history’ with us. His knowledge of the Revolutionary era was very evident!”
In an Alliance press release, Barusch says, “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. 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.” The reinterment project requires the approval of New York State and the U.S. Army.
The Senate Majority Leader gave a shout-out to local officials and the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance saying, “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.”
Featured image: Senator Charles E. Schumer reviews plans for the reinterment of Continental soldiers with Lake George Town Director of Planning Dan Barusch as Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance President John DiNuzzo looks on (Aug. 28, 2023)/courtesy Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance