This week’s “Lake George Battlefield Moments” podcast welcomes Lake George Planning & Zoning Director Dan Barusch who updates us on the status of plans to re-inter 44 Continental soldiers and other smallpox victims who died at Lake George in 1776 at Lake George Battlefield Park in May 2026.
A major smallpox epidemic broke out between 1775 and 1782 that killed an estimated 130,000 colonists with about 400,000 infected, about 1/16th all North American colonists. One important smallpox hospital was located on the shore of Lake George at Fort George. It’s estimated that smallpox killed far more people during the American Revolution than the enemy.
In February of 2019, during the excavation of a construction site on Courtland Street in Lake George, New York, a series of human remains were found.
It is believed this was the site of a cemetery associated with the Continental Army’s smallpox hospital established in 1776 at nearby Fort George. This constitutes one of modern history’s most important archaeological findings to date in Lake George.
Barusch previews what’s sure to be an unforgettable tribute at the dedication ceremony on May 22, 2026, and the projected construction schedule in the Battlefield Park to begin this September.
The completion of the long-awaited Repose of the Fallen project will doubtless be a highlight among the numerous events that will take place next year as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
You can this podcast at the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance’s YouTube channel here.
You can contribute to the project at www.reposeofthefallen.org.
The Lake George Battlefield Moments podcast is produced by the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance, a friends group supporting the Lake George Battlefield Park Historic District in Lake George, Warren County, NY. All of the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance’s podcasts can be accessed through their YouTube channel.
Listen to more history podcasts here.
Illustration of the proposal for six columbaria, the centerpiece of a Memorial Plaza in Battlefield Park, that would hold the remains of 18th century war dead found in Lake George.
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