The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance (“the Alliance”) was established in 2001 as a private, nonprofit education corporation chartered by the Board of Regents of the State University of New York, to support activities of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the preservation and interpretation of the Lake George Battlefield Park.

The Alliance is a volunteer-driven organization comprising individuals from various regions of the United States who have an abiding interest in the Lake George region’s critical role in the French and Indian and American Revolutionary Wars. By walking the same paths as such important historic figures as Sir William Johnson, King Hendrick, the Marquis de Montcalm and Henry Knox, in full view of the magnificent lake that served as a key means to regional dominance in the 18^th century, we both derive appreciation for the extraordinary actions that were taken and help preserve important vestiges of the battlefield for posterity.

Lake George Battlefield Park was the scene of sustained military conflict during the 18^th century as residents of the colonies faced virtually ongoing threats from both within and without. Among the most noteworthy events that occurred on the current Park property were:

• The Battle of Lake George (1755), signifying the first major British victory over the French and their native allies during the French and Indian War;
• The aftermath of the Siege of Fort William Henry (1757), where British troops were encamped here due to overcrowding within the fort and saw much of the post-British surrender horrors occur;
• The 17,000-man flotilla led by General Abercromby launched at the head of Lake George in 1758 against the French at Ticonderoga/Carillon, a disastrous defeat for the British;
• The construction of Fort George by the British in 1759, a fortification that remained in use by them and the patriots until its 1780 destruction;
• The overland launching point for Colonel Henry Knox is his transport of 60 tons of cannon from Ticonderoga to Boston, tipping the balance for General George Washington to rid the city of its British occupants;
• The location of a Continental Army smallpox “general hospital” in 1776, treating soldiers who had returned from the attempted invasion of Canada with the deadly infection.

The monuments in Lake George Battlefield Park were dedicated beginning in the early 1900s and remain a must-see stopping point for history-lovers visiting the region. Among the statues located here are: The Battle of Lake George (1903), depicting General William Johnson and his Indian ally, King Hendrick; Mohawk Warrior (1921), a sculpture that pays tributes to Native peoples in pre-Colonial times who hunted and fished in the region; the Knox monument (1926), identifying the road in the park which was used as part of Colonel Knox’s artillery march in 1775; the burial site of four unknown soldiers killed during the Battle of Lake George, at dedicated at their reinterment in 1935; and a statue of St. Isaac Jogues (1939), the first European to view our lake in the mid-1600s.

More than 120 years after the idea was first publicly aired to establish a museum at the Battlefield Park to display artifacts and exhibits that highlight its extraordinary history, our new Visitor Center opened to the public in May 2022. Trustees of the Alliance work closely with State DEC, the State Museum and the Lake George Park Commission to help assure our guests enjoy a memorable and safe experience. The Visitor Center operates seasonally and by appointment during the off-season.

Finally, a committee organized by the Town of Lake George has collaborated with the State and interested local historical associations to design an appropriate final resting place for the remains of 40+ Continental soldiers discovered in Lake George in February 2019. The deceased were smallpox victims, likely treated at the hospital located in 1776 in what is now the Battlefield Park. With final State approval received in April 2024, work has now started to honor these early patriots by hosting a suitable memorial to their sacrifices. A dedication of this new memorial is anticipated in 2026 during the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations.