N.Y. growth besieges Revolutionary patriots' graves

Posted July 4th, 2009 by xntryk1

Web Posted: 07/03/2009 5:30 CDT

N.Y. growth besieges Revolutionary patriots' graves
Associated Press

FISHKILL, N.Y. -- Ed Spaeth was researching his family tree when he discovered an 18th-century ancestor likely was buried in the woods just down the hill from his Hudson Valley home.

Although he can't pinpoint Francois Martin-Pelland's grave, historical evidence has led Spaeth to the nearby grove believed to be the final resting place of hundreds of other Revolutionary War soldiers posted here when Fishkill was the main supply source for Gen. George Washington's northern army.

Today, commercial development has whittled the wooded parcel down to about 12 acres hemmed in by roads, a shopping mall, a gas station and a Mexican restaurant. A group of preservationists, history buffs and civic leaders has mustered in this Dutchess County town to try to save what could be the nation's single largest-known burial site of Revolutionary War soldiers.

"They didn't fight and die for this cause just to have a mall built on top of them," said Spaeth, a 64-year-old retired school librarian.

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