Buffalo’s Tomb Of The Unknowns – Dale’s Daily Data

I thought I was pretty well versed in Buffalo history but there’s an incredible piece of history I never knew about and on Memorial Day there will be a commemoration of a historical site in Delaware Park.  It’s right in the middle of Delaware Park golf course  that’s unmarked except for a small plaque.  Near the plaque is a large boulder and it marks the spot where 300 American soldiers are buried in a mass grave.  They were soldiers who had come to Buffalo to fight the British in the War of 1812 and didn’t survive the winter.

Most of the soldiers died of disease or exposure to the brutal cold.  Many of them had come from Maryland and Virginia and wore only light-weight clothes.  They slept in open-ended tents.  These guys were from the south and had never experienced a winter like we get in Buffalo.  They were soldiers who were part of a group planning to invade Canada to fight the British.  The 300 who didn’t survive the elements were buried close to where they died.

On Monday, Memorial Day, a group of volunteers will plant 300 American flags near the site.  Sometimes known as the “Mound In the Meadow”, the “Delaware Park Tomb of the Unknowns” may be the only intact site from the War of 1812 within the City of Buffalo. 

Next year will mark the 200^th anniversary of the War of 1812 but more importantly both Canada and United States are planning events to celebrate 200 years of peace between the two countries following that war. 

The planting of the flags on Monday will be at 9:45 am.  If you’d like to be a part of it enter Delaware Park’s Ring Road at the intersection of Colvin and Amherst.