 Good morning. I am Laura Treishman and it is my great honor to serve as the Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer at the Division for Historic Preservation. Welcome to Lakeview Cemetery and the Reinterment Ceremony for the Soldiers of the War of 1812 who died here in Vermont. This is a very special event and we are so pleased you can join us this morning. Imagine if you will the small village of Burlington with a population of less than 1,700. During the War of 1812 from June 1812 to June 1815 that quiet village became the site of a large military establishment because of its strategic location along Lake Champlain which facilitated the movement of supplies and troops. By 1813 the camp was permanent with troop levels ranging from several hundred to just over 4,000. Alongside the earthworks, winter quarters and supply depot was a large hospital and military burial grounds. Soldiers who were sick, injured, aging and simply unfit were sent to Burlington from throughout the 9th Military District. The hospital was designed to care for about 300 men but the number of patients would occasionally exceed 700 even reaching 900 in 1814. Military records show that more than 550 US regulars died and were buried in Burlington along with an unknown number of state militiamen prisoners of war and civilian camp followers. With the end of the war and the subsequent development from a small village to the city of Burlington the cemetery was largely forgotten although newspaper stories recount the random exhumation of remains as early as the 1820s. In 2000 during the construction of a new building at the corner of North Street and North Avenue the first of the recent burials were identified. Apparently stacked to the side during construction of the installation of a gas station tanks. Additionally there were numerous historic accounts of North and residents finding remains during work on their own property. In 2002 during the reconstruction project of North Street by the agency of transportation the first of several intact burials were discovered and wrongly covered up by a contractor. Report of the finding was reported by a resident to the Burlington police who immediately investigated and with the cooperation of the workmen and contractors relocated the burials. V-trance was swift to hire the University of Vermont consulting archaeology program to monitor construction activities remove the remains and conduct extensive research. In the late summer of 2020 at the height of the pandemic another 17 graves were found during residential construction project. Now 20 years later after the discovery in 2002 and 210 years after the start of the war of 1812 we are honored to establish a final resting place for the remains of these veterans soldiers who fought for independence and the rights of our nation. It is now my great pleasure to introduce Dr. John Croc associate professor of anthropology and the director of the UVM consulting archaeology program which conducted all of the excumations research and provided temporary homes for the soldiers until just this week. Thank you Laura and thank you all for being here today it's an honor to pay tribute to these soldiers and it's also an honor to see them reinterred. These are some of our country's first veterans and it's also an honor to be here today among living veterans. This day represents an achievement of one of their long-term goals of this work on the war of 1812 cemetery and Burlington's role in the war of 1812. Reinterment with a monument these individuals were buried marked with temporary markers that later were disintegrated and now they are in unmarked graves still. I'd especially like to thank all those that made this reality many of whom are here today. Kirsten Merriman Shapiro was early an early advocate for study and reburial of the remains. I'd also like to thank Holly and Steve here at Lakeview for helping make this a wonderful occasion and I'd also like to thank the wonderful archaeologists that have the privilege of working with at the University of Vermont. In particular we wouldn't be here today without the hard work of Kate Kenney UVM's program historian and historic archaeologist. Kate spent thousands of hours working on the research on this project and a considerable amount of that time has been donated. Her passion has even enveloped her entire family who have also contributed in many different ways to the research. Kate has pulled all-nighters guarding excavations pulled all-nighters combing over records and it's her passion that has led us to today and the information that we now have. It's her painstaking research combing over enlistment records that allows us to talk about who these people were. It's Kate's work that allows us to know that some these individuals ranged in age those who died in Burlington from 15 to 45. 55% of them were farmers others were laborers, carpenters, coopers, masons all who left their home communities to serve. The majority of died in Burlington came from New England but we know also that they came as far away as South Carolina. Many died of epidemic disease. Archaeology is telling us their story and we hope to continue this effort this effort to identify them individually. Archaeology also tells us that they were buried in a cemetery in an army cemetery in rows with care presided over by comrades. Many were buried in uniform and there are many more still lying and unmarked graves. Archaeology also helps us understand our history and brings to light the unwritten record. It also demonstrates the presence of significant cultural resources here in Burlington and in an urban developed environment. The reburial above ground is intentional. Research is ongoing. Technology is improving and research continues. We are hopeful that someday these individuals and others that are discovered will be identified. Thank you. Thank you very much, John, to you and your entire team. One of the primary partners in this endeavor beginning in 2002 was the dedicated staff of the City of Burlington who secured the funding for research on numerous occasions and for this columbarium, which is quite a statement piece. On behalf of the City of Burlington, please join me in welcoming Mayor Warren Berver. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for this important and really momentous ceremony. Less than a week ago, quite a number of us were gathered just down the avenue to have an annual ceremony recognizing Memorial Day and those who have given their lives made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. And, you know, we do this every year. Got a ton of those ceremonies now and we are in those memorials. We're always thinking of soldiers who died in distant deserts and jungles and shores. Strikes me today. This is really one of the only times that Burlington and American history has coincided such that soldiers were sacrificing their lives right here in our city. And I really want to deeply thank Dr. Kroc and everyone who has put in the enormous work leading up to today that documented how those individuals lost their lives, what they were doing, what life was like here in the city at that time. And even after the troubles of the last two years that we have faced, we live in such relative prosperity and safety that it is almost difficult to imagine the reality of life that Dr. Kroc's work has described. But it's so important that we do so. Maybe more important than ever that we try to hold on to the history that has brought us here so that we remain aware and alive, vigilant to the the threats of foreign aggressors of tyrants within our midst and even risks such as pandemics. I think it's this this work is of enormous value in life in 2022. So I would like to thank in some more detail the city team that contributed to to bring us today. I want to thank the parks department and CEDO for working alongside the University of department of Vermont to get this effort started and moving collectively that have been focused on the exhumations documentation and re internment efforts for this site for nearly 20 years now. The effort did not come easily into 2007. The city of Burlington applied for and received an American battlefield protection program grant from the National Park Service. Think it speaks well of our country that such grants exist that we put resources and effort into attempting to understand what happened on America's battlefields. The goal of the study was to develop a detailed historic context that focused on the content can tone men in Burlington by generating GIS maps that noted a range of features including the boundary of the cemetery. The study also sought to raise awareness of the role that Burlington played during the war of 1812 against the British and the importance of the archaeological resources that remain through this effort. The city team was involved in preparing an archaeological management plan that addressed protocols and policies to preserve any incidental discovery of the cantonment especially the hundreds of burials in the hospital cemetery. I want to specifically thank and it's great that she's here today. Kirsten Merriman Shapiro is the driving force of this important project as she was so many others during her long tenure with the city. CEDO also secured federal funding through HUD for the 2020 purchase of the Columbarium and Headstone which has given these soldiers a long overdue resting place. I also want to thank the Lakeview Cemetery and staff in the Burlington Parks Recreation and Waterfront Department which is hosting us this morning who has been a great support in finding the re-enterment location prominently, citing it here in the Lakeview Cemetery which is just beyond the site of course where the soldiers were first buried. With this new Columbarium and Headstone we can now mark the final resting place for the 30 exhumed soldiers helping us remember all of those who lived here and died here. Thank you all. Thank you very much Mayor. Representing Senator Patrick Leahy and the congressional staff that supported this re-enterment and responded every time I called with requests of I need funding, I need assistance, I need guidance, I need connections. Please welcome John Tracy. That's a reminder we're from the government we're here to help. It's an honor to be here on behalf of Senator Leahy and on behalf of Congressman Welch he's not able to make it today but he sends his regards and appreciation. As the Mayor mentioned we're celebrating Memorial Day a week or so back and it's appropriate for the timing that we do this now. So it's been over 200 years and things have changed a bit. At that time the United States had less than 6 million people. Now we're well north of 332 million. Our flag had 15 stars and 15 stripes. Now we have 50. We get along quite well with our cousins across the pond and our neighbors to the north. In fact now in times of conflict they are beside us when we go into war. It's fitting that we take this time to acknowledge that what hasn't changed is that we as a country never forget and always honor those who served. And that we're here over 200 years later to show the respect and dedication to those who gave their lives for our country is remarkable. It speaks highly to our military and highly to American citizens. And on behalf of Senator Leahy I want to thank all the partners, state, local, federal and volunteers who made this day possible and it's a real honor to be here to find a final resting place. And on behalf of an incredibly grateful nation, thank them for their service. Thank you to speak on behalf of Senator Bernie Sanders. I am pleased to introduce Airheart Monca who addresses Veterans Affairs for the Senators for Mont office. Thank you. Thank you. And good morning, everybody. Do a little better than that. Thank you. So thank you for giving me the opportunity to make a few brief remarks on behalf of Senator Sanders, who unfortunately could not be here today for this important ceremony to honor these soldiers of the war of 1812 through today's reinterment ceremony. On behalf of the senator, first and foremost, I want to thank Laura for helping make this day possible and your team at the State Division of Historic Preservation, Mayor Weinberger and CEDO and the Parks Department and your entire team that helped make this day possible. Dr. Kroc, of course, your contributions are just immense and thank you for your good work with your team at UVM and really everyone who has been involved in this forgetting Secretary Curley, thank you for making this possible from your vantage point at the agency of commerce. As the former mayor of Burlington, Senator Sanders is proud of the role that Burlington played during the war of 1812, which was crucial to the survival of our young nation. Though there were no land battles fought in Vermont during that war for the entire three years of the war due to its strategic location on Lake Champlain and close to the border with British Canada, Burlington hosted an important military base that was a key supply, encampment, hospital and burial site as we know for the US Army, as well as a staging ground for the raids to the north. We know the troops levels numbered as high as 4,500 at times and that Burlington saw even saw a brief artillery duel between the large British fleet that had sailed into Burlington Bay in the summer of 1813 and the American battery on the bluff overlooking our beautiful lake. And while we do not know whether the remains of the 30 soldiers being reinterred today were casualties of battle or succumbed to one of the many ailments common to the 19th century armies such as typhoid, dysentery and measles, I know that Senator Sanders is grateful that their remains are being treated with the sensitivity, dignity and respect that is due every soldier that has risked or given their life for the protection of our country. As the former chair and longtime member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, honoring Americans veterans and making sure that they get the care and benefits that they deserve for having risked or given their all for their country has been and remains among the center's highest priorities. I know that the center especially appreciates that even now 210 years after these courageous soldiers gave their lives to protect our young nation that their remains are being given a burial, the fitting their sacrifice as well as the full military honors provided by the honor guard of the Vermont Army National Guard. Thanks again to all those who've made this important ceremony honoring those who gave all their lives for their country possible. It is now my great honor to introduce Secretary Lindsey Curley of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development where the Division for Historic Preservation is located. She led our team that worked to oversee the excumations, research and re-interment of these soldiers and ensured that these veterans would have a permanent and safe resting place that memorializes their achievements. Please join me in welcoming Secretary Curley. Hello. Good morning to everybody. Thank you for being here today. As we honor American soldiers who called Vermont home during a time of war, the re-interment of these soldiers celebrates their importance as veterans from the War of 1812, a conflict that brought our young nation onto the world stage over maritime rights and a desire to expand territory. The sacrifices of these soldiers who all died here in Vermont during this conflict must always be remembered and respected. Although the names of these soldiers are not known yet, we remain committed to honoring them and their families and preserving our state's history and significance to the early days of the United States of America. I wanted to take a moment to offer some thanks. You've heard some of these names before, but you can tell that it does take a village to get some things lifted and this group of people have done so much to make this possible. From the city of Burlington, Kirsten, Merriman, Shapiro, who was at the Community and Economic Development Office, Holly Bushnell from Burlington Parks and Rec and the Lakeview Cemetery, from the University of Vermont, consulting archaeology program and the Kenny family, Vermont Medical Examiner's Office and Professor Deborah Blum of UVM's Department of Anthropology. We also want to thank the contractors, builders and property owners like Mike Weston of Don Weston Excavating, Matt Boudreau and Bill Bissonette for their awareness of the military burial grounds and care and seeing the remains respectfully excavated. And at the state level, I want to thank Jen Russell at the Agency of Transportation and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Secretary of Transportation, Joe Flynn is with us today as well. And of course our dedicated team at the Division of Historic Preservation, Scott Dillon, Jess Robinson and Laura Trishman. And Laura, we're so grateful. I appreciate the energy and the effort that you've put into making this come come to bear. When I first started at the Agency in April 2020, you had brought this up to me and I remember the pride you felt about giving a proper burial to these soldiers. And so thank you for seeing this through. As we can all imagine the soldiers stationed here in Burlington 210 years ago had to work together to positively impact the war effort and to be successful in defense of our country. Working together has also been the theme of all of the people I just mentioned. In 2002 and 2020 discovery, excavation and reenternment of these soldiers could not have been done without the incredible teamwork across the state and city government. Higher education and the private sector. Their work has resulted in this event today, respectfully giving these American veterans a final resting place. Back to you, Laura. Thank you very much. Thank you very much to all of our special speakers. Now I want to ask you to please join me in thanking and welcoming Kirsten Merriman Shapiro. Thank you all and thank you very much to Laura for making this day possible as well as everyone else who's here from the city, from all of the different perspectives and just being here today to to see the reenternment happen. I have a short poem I'd like to read. How do you major a soldier's sacrifice? Is it by the number of friends or family left behind? Is it by the months or years given in service? How do you measure a soldier's courage? Is it by the number of objectives that were completed or by the numbers of bullets dodged or by the missions that they served? How do you measure a soldier's honor? Is it the duty that he or she volunteers for? By the number of medals that they are? The simple truth is that these things are immeasurable. And as it is the country's debt to all who served and paid the price for the freedom that we have in this land. Thank you all. Thank you. And now from for a blessing from Reverend Peter Newport. Good morning. I'm the Reverend Peter Newport, a member of the first Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, the church at the head of Church Street, a building, incidentally, that was erected on the edge of town just after the war of 1812 was concluded. With your indulgence, I would like to make room for the individuals whose anonymous remains we memorialize today, 200 years or more after their death. At the height of the war, the military cantonment on the bluff house, perhaps as many as 4,000 people, military and civilian, invalid and able bodied prisoners and camp followers, spies and Native Americans, card sharks and hooligans, even children lived in those quarters. Conditions were stark, winters were cold, and all these died in their hundreds on this, the northern frontier of their young democracy. To honor some, we must honor all. And yes, among them, there were heroes. People who stood tall and did the utmost of what had to be done in the exigent circumstances of their time. These bones ask us to do likewise, to struggle against the demise of our own democracy, even as they struggled in their way to sustain it. In this endeavor, the heroes stiffen our courage and lay claim to our gratitude and compassion as we return their remains to rest. Will you please join me now in this time, in this time, in a prayer for peace. Master of peace, creator of all things, may it be thy will to put an end to war and bloodshed on this earth. Spread a great and wonderful peace over the whole world so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation nor learn war anymore. Help us and save us all. And let us cling tightly to the virtue of peace. Let there be great peace between every person and their fellow, between husband and wife. Let there be no discord between people, even in their hearts. Let us never shame any person on earth, great or small. May it be granted unto us to fulfill thy commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself with all our hearts and souls and bodies and possessions. God, who is peace, open unto me light for my darkness. Open unto me courage for my fear. Open unto me hope for my despair. Open unto me peace for my turmoil. Open unto me joy for my sorrow. Open unto me strength for my weakness. Open unto me wisdom for my confusion. Open unto me forgiveness for my sins. Open unto me love for my hates. Open unto me thyself for myself. Lord Lord open unto me amen. Thank you so much to our military from the war of 1812 and today and all those years in between. And thank you all for coming. Have a great day.