On the March -- Save America’s Last Great Revolutionary War Site

The Town just declared it hallowed ground. Help us prove the truth before it’s paved over.

In the Summer of 1776, Continental troops began assembling at Fishkill, New York. Within months, the camp had become one of the most important military installations of the Revolutionary War — a supply depot with workshops, store houses, ammunition magazines, hospitals, barracks to house 2000 soldiers, and a graveyard.

Hundreds of soldiers died in Fishkill. Wounds. Smallpox. Exposure. They were buried where they fell, in a field at the base of the mountain east of the Albany Post Road. Most were buried without uniforms, equipment, or identifying artifacts — because during the war, every coat, every shoe, every blanket was needed for the living.

On October 14, 1897, the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a monument at the edge of that field. The inscription honors "the brave men who gave their lives for their Country during the American Revolution and whose remains repose in the adjoining field."

Some 80 years later, the monument was relocated as the Albany Post Road (now U.S. 9) was widened to accommodate the dramatic surge in development that followed the construction of Interstate 84. Soon thereafter, the cemetery and its buried heroes got lost in the shuffle.

The Campaign Continues

In May 2026, the Town of Fishkill Town Board voted — unanimously, bipartisan, every member — to adopt Resolution 2026-119, formally declaring and dedicating the parcel at the northeast corner of Van Wyck Lake Road and Route 9 as a Revolutionary War Soldiers Burial Ground. The Town drew on seven 19th-century historians, the 1897 DAR record, archaeological investigations confirming human remains, and Comprehensive Plans dating to 1962.

It is the most significant municipal action taken on this ground in 129 years. And it could not have come at a more urgent moment.

The parcel is privately owned and the subject of a commercial development proposal that awaits only financing and a building permit to break ground. If constructed, the owner's Colonially-themed strip mall will destroy the foundation of George Washington's horse stables and suffocate the estimated 300+ soldiers resting in the newly-designated Revolutionary War cemetery. Countless artifacts and other cultural resources will be lost.

We are not opposed to private property rights. We are opposed to development that proceeds without doing the basic work that the historical record — and now the Town of Fishkill itself — demands.

Join the Summer Campaign

We are raising $250,000 for the "On the March Campaign" to fund what has never been done:

Acquisition of the parcel to ensure its permanent protection going forward.
Long-term archaeological examination of the site to identify every soldier known to be buried at Fishkill — building on the 91 we have found through our in-house historic research.
Public education programming, classroom curricula, and interpretive signage for the 250th anniversary year.
Legal and preservation advocacy to ensure that our first heroes lost to big development are never forgotten.

Choose Your Impact

$25 — Friend of the Fishkill Supply Depot

Help build public momentum to preserve this sacred ground.

$100 — Revolutionary War Patriot

Strengthen efforts to protect a unique Revolutionary War site from future threats.

$250 — Continental Soldier

Support advocacy, research, and outreach that will lead to new partnerships.

$500 — Continental Officer

Fund urgently needed legal advocacy.

$1,000 — Aide to General Washington

Promote heritage tourism and renewed public interest in an underappreciated historic site.

$5,000 — Continental Army Quartermaster

Directly impact all facets of the preservation effort: advocacy, outreach, and acquisition

Leadership Gifts

Major gifts of $25,000+ help unlock matching support from conservation partners and government agencies. All gifts result in full membership, access to exclusive news, and participation in elections.

The Line Must Be Held

We are doing this work the slow, careful, documented way. We are reading thousands of pages of pension files, regimental returns, hospital ledgers, and contemporaneous correspondence. We are checking every name three times. We are publishing what we find because we owe these men the truth. The truth requires money, time, and partners.

Join the march.

For more on the history of the site and the effort to protect it, please contact info@fishkillsupplydepot.org or visit our website.

On the March — Save America’s Last Great Revolutionary War Site

The Town just declared it hallowed ground. Help us prove the truth before it’s paved over.