AND THE EXCITEMENT AT THE LAKE GEORGE BATTLEFIELD PARK IS GROWING!  Over the past few years, the Alliance has sponsored a dramatic expansion of its programs that has driven a surge in membership growth. Key milestones include:

• The opening in May 2022 of the Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center, a museum containing artifacts and exhibits that illustrate the site’s storied history.
• A series of public programs that feature award-winning historians and exclusive guided visits to important sites in the making of America, both on land and afloat our majestic lake.
• The creation of a weekly radio program and podcast, “Lake George Battlefield Moments”, broadcast on the Alliance’s own YouTube channel.
• The refurbishment in 2025 of the park’s three iconic bronze sculptures, works of art and history that date back to 1903.
• A commemoration in December 2025 of Henry Knox’s Noble Artillery Train on its 250th anniversary, including a re-enactment of his arrival by boat at the head of Lake George and community programs featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson.
• In May 2026, the reinterment of 44 Continental soldiers and associated personnel who perished in 1776 at the military hospital that was located in what is now Lake George Battlefield Park.

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.