Dedicated on July 1, 1906, Fort Ontario's post cemetery contains the graves of 77 British and American soldiers, as well as some of their wives, mothers, and children. The original cemetery was established 300 yards southeast of the fort in 1759 and was used from the period of the French and Indian War until its closure in 1815. It was reopened in 1839 and remained an active burial ground until the post closed in 1901. Two years later, the bodies were moved from their original location and re-buried in the present post cemetery.
Several hundred British and Provincial soldiers and civilian artisans died of disease, accident, and Native American attacks during the year leading up to the French capture and destruction of Oswego in 1756. Unmarked graves discovered during the rebuilding of Fort Ontario in 1903 may be associated with the British 51st Regiment of Foot and the Jersey Blues, which were two of the units stationed at the fort in 1755-56.
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