Zebulon Pike



Zebulon Pike Jr. was born in Lamberton, New Jersey and lived from 1779 to 1813. Pike. He was a Brigadier General when he died after being wounded in a magazine explosion during his successful attack on York (Toronto), Ontario. The attack was coordinated along with the U.S. Navy making it the first joint amphibious attack in American military history. The naval forces on Lake Ontario were led by Commodore Isaac Chauncey. Pike also served in George Washington's Continental Army, and in the US Army after the revolution was won. He led explorations of the Mississippi, Arkansas and Red rivers and the Southwest United States, mapping much of the southern part of the |Louisiana Purchase] and unsuccessfully attempted to climb the Colorado mountain named after him: |Pike's Peak].

After his death, Pike's remains were ferried on Chaincey's flagship from York, across Lake Ontario, and buried in the magazine of Fort Tompkins along with his aide-de-camp Capt. Benjamin Nicholson. Shortly after the war ended, his remains were moved from Fort Tompkins to the cemetery at Madison Barracks. In 1903, they were again moved to the Military Cemetery in Sackets Harbor. Given the number and circmstances of moves, the exact location and condition of Pike's remains remain in doubt. Descendants of the Pike family have petitioned for the exhumation of Pike's grave, so that DNA analysis can be done to confirm his exact whereabouts.

Newspaper Article |Calgary Herald: Exhumation of 1812 War Hero Stirs Controversy]

Also see: |Wikipedia article on Pike]

Sackets Harbor

Sackets Harbor Military Cemetery