SPENCERVILLE, Ohio – Soldiers from the War of 1812 are facing a modern-day battle.

Torrential rains and freeze-and-thaw cycles are eating away at a nearby bank of the Auglaize River, threatening to undermine the graves and headstones of the warriors buried at the former site of Fort Amanda near the western Ohio village of Spencerville.

The threat to the gravesites has become a major worry for the Ohio Historical Society.

About 75 soldiers from the War of 1812 are buried at the site of Fort Amanda, which no longer exists. Of those, the graves of as many as 15 are threatened by erosion near the cemetery, which sits about 35 feet above the river.

The gravesites are now about 15 to 20 feet from the edge of the riverbank.