SACKETS HARBOR — Enemies from years ago soon may be honored at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site.

As the observance of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 approaches, event organizers are discussing their options for something that will commemorate and honor fallen soldiers from British forces whose remains were left behind in Sackets Harbor.

"This observance is a way to celebrate 200 years of peace or 'hands across the border' or any of those terms that are used for the bicentennial," said Constance B. Barone, battlefield manager and one of the key players for planning the event.

"We are working with our Canadian counterparts. This is an opportunity to remember the opposition and to collaborate and commemorate together," she said.

In addition to people from the village, the memorial is being planned with groups of people from Kingston, Ontario.

Mrs. Barone said details of the proposed commemoration still are being worked out. She said she would like to see a monument similar to the centennial monument that was built in 1913, but something as simple as a marker along the walk would not be ruled out.

"It will be a marker that would be on state property," she said. "That's about all we have finalized at this point. I'd like to see something maybe a little smaller than the centennial monument. That monument is dedicated to all who served. This would be a continuation of that same thought. We want to fine-tune all of this a bit more because we are always finding out more information."

Mrs. Barone said that during some research, she came across a British soldier's recount of burying a fallen soldier. She said the British soldier documented that he had helped bury the remains of his comrade next to Brig. Gen. Zebulon M. Pike from the American side.

"Those are the sort of things that we find very intriguing, and we want to look at all the possibilities," she said.

Mrs. Barone said there are a lot of unanswered questions and facts that still need to be researched; names and ranks still have to be determined. She said it's likely that a dedication date still is years away.

"Right now we are thinking about May 29, 2013," she said.

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