The Plattsburgh Barracks-- Part 6: War of 1812 Skeletons Found

All of the War of 1812 forts except Fort Brown were leveled to form a huge 40-acre parade ground known as the "U.S. Oval."  This happened in the early 1890s.

In 1892, during the removal of Fort Moreau which had been the main and largest of the War of 1812 forts during the Battle of Plattsburgh, numerous human remains, as many as twenty-five, were unearthed.  They had been hurriedly buried either during or immediately after the Battle of Plattsburgh.

When Fort Scott was leveled, perhaps thirty or more skeletons were also discovered.  Cannonballs and other War of 1812 artifacts were also found.  These were reportedly sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

All of the recovered skeletons were buried with full military honors in the nearby Old Post Cemetery in a mass grave marked by a large monument to the unknown dead of the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry