Morning Read: Belated respect for Brits, Canadians buried in Sackets Harbor

Nearly two hundred years after they died in the war of 1812, British forces and their Canadian allies will be given a memorial monument in Sackets Harbor, according to the Watertown Daily Times.

The soldiers, many whose identities are not known, fell victim to American forces on May 29, 1813, during an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt supply lines for American soldiers. After the skirmish, the foreign soldiers were interred by their American counterparts, never memorialized in any way.

Now, a collaborative effort between the Sackets Harbor Battlefield Alliance and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which oversees the historic site, will erect a monument prior to the bicentennial commemoration of the battle in 2013 recognizing the British and Canadian dead.

“It’s giving the honor of war to the Crown forces who were not given the honor of war at the time of their burial,” said Theodore L. Schofield, a member of the board of trustees for the alliance, a nonprofit corporation that supports activities at the site and seeks to preserve it.

As many as thirty bodies are believed buried at the site.  A ground-breaking on the new memorial is scheduled for August.  Read the full article here.

Tags: history, Jefferson county