Philip Schuyler

Philip Schuyler
United States Senator from New York
In office July 16, 1789 – March 3, 1791
Preceded by	(none)
Succeeded by	Aaron Burr
In office March 4, 1797 – January 3, 1798
Preceded by	Aaron Burr
Succeeded by	John Sloss Hobart
New York State Surveyor General
In office 1781–1784
Preceded by	Created
Succeeded by	Simeon De Witt
Personal details
Born	Philip John Schuyler November 20, 1733 Albany, New York
Died	November 18, 1804 (aged 70) Albany, New York
Political party	Pro-Administration, Federalist
Spouse(s)	Catherine Van Rensselaer
Relations	See Schuyler family
Children	John Bradstreet Schuyler Philip Jeremiah Schuyler Angelica Schuyler Elizabeth Schuyler Peggy Schuyler Catherine V. R. Schuyler
Profession	Soldier, Statesman
Religion	Dutch Reformed
Military service
Service/branch	New York State Militia
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	Revolutionary War  • Battle of Saratoga

Philip John Schuyler (/ˈskaɪlər/; November 20 [O.S. November 10] 1733 – November 18, 1804) was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York.^[1] He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.

Early life

Philip John Schuyler was born on November 20 [O.S. November 10] 1733^[2] in Albany, New York, to Cornelia Van Cortlandt (1698–1762) and Johannes ("John") Schuyler, Jr. (1697–1741), the third generation of the Dutch family in America.

Prior to his father's death on the eve of his eighth birthday, Schuyler attended the public school at Albany. Afterward, he was educated by tutors at the Van Cortlandt family estate at New Rochelle. In 1748 he began to study with Reverend Peter Strouppe at the New Rochelle French Protestant Church, where he learned French and mathematics. While he was at New Rochelle he also joined numerous trade expeditions where he met Iroquois leaders and learned to speak Mohawk. He joined the British forces in 1755 during the French and Indian War, raised a company, and was commissioned as its Captain by his cousin, Lt. Governor James Delancey. Later in that war, he served as a quartermaster, purchasing supplies and organizing equipment.

Family

Philip was related to many illustrious contemporaries, including: Peter Schuyler, a cousin who commanded the Jersey Blues; Hester Schuyler, a cousin who married William Colfax, a veteran of George Washington's Life Guards and later a general in the New Jersey militia who also commanded the Jersey Blues. (William and Hester were the grandparents of Vice President and Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax); Arent Schuyler De Peyster (cousin), a noted Loyalist; Mary (Watts) Johnson, a second cousin who was a loyalist and wife of Colonel Sir John Johnson; Dr. John Cochran, a brother-in-law who was the Director General of the Military Hospitals of the Continental Army.^[3]

Career

Early career

From 1761 to 1762, Schuyler made a trip to England to settle accounts from his work as quartermaster. He began construction on his home in Albany, later called Schuyler Mansion, during this time. He also began construction of his country estate, (now known as the General Schuyler House) at Saratoga.

In 1768, Schuyler began his political career as a member of the New York Assembly, serving in that body until 1775. During that time, his views came to be more opposed to the colonial government, particularly in matters of trade and currency. He was also made a Colonel in the militia for his support of Governor Henry Moore.

Revolutionary War

Letter from Philip Schuyler to Israel Shreve, 1776

Schuyler was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775, and served until he was appointed a Major General of the Continental Army in June. General Schuyler took command of the Northern Department, and planned the Invasion of Canada (1775). His poor health required him to place Richard Montgomery in command of the invasion.

As department commanding General, he was active in preparing a defense against the Saratoga Campaign, part of the "Three Pronged Attack" strategy of the British to cut the American Colonies in two by invading and occupying New York State in 1777. In the summer of that year General John Burgoyne marched his British army south from Quebec over the valleys of Lakes Champlain and George. On the way he invested the small Colonial garrison occupying Fort Ticonderoga at the nexus of the two lakes. When General St. Clair abandoned Fort Ticonderoga in July, the Congress replaced Schuyler with General Horatio Gates, who had accused Schuyler of dereliction of duty.

Battle of Saratoga

The British offensive was eventually stopped by Continental Army then under the command of Gates and Benedict Arnold in the Battle of Saratoga. That victory, the first wholesale defeat of a large British force, marked a turning point in the revolution, for it convinced France to enter the war on the American side. When Schuyler demanded a court martial to answer Gates' charges, he was vindicated but resigned from the Army on April 19, 1779. He then served in two more sessions of the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780.

Schuyler was an original member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati.

Later career

After the war, he expanded his Saratoga estate to tens of thousands of acres, adding slaves, tenant farmers, a store, mills for flour, flax, and lumber. His flax mill for the making of linen was the first one in America. He built several schooners on the Hudson River, and named the first Saratoga.

He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1780 to 1784, and at the same time New York State Surveyor General from 1781 to 1784. Afterwards he returned to the State Senate from 1786 to 1790, where he actively supported the adoption of the United States Constitution.

In 1789, he was elected a U.S. Senator from New York to the First United States Congress, serving from July 27, 1789, to March 3, 1791. After losing his bid for re-election in 1791, he returned to the State Senate from 1792 to 1797. In 1797, he was elected again to the U.S. Senate and served in the 5th United States Congress from March 4, 1797 until his resignation because of ill health on January 3, 1798.

Personal life

Schuyler Mansion, which was constructed from 1761 to 1765.

Schuyler's County House used during the Revolution, in Schuylerville

In September 1755, he married Catherine Van Rensselaer^[4] (1734–1803) at Albany. She was the daughter of Johannes van Rensselaer (1707/08–1783) and his first wife, Engeltje Livingston (1698–1746/47). Johannes was the grandson of Hendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740). Philip and Catherine had 15 children together, eight of whom survived to adulthood, including:

• Angelica Schuyler (1756–1814), who married John Barker Church (1748–1818), later a British MP.
• Elizabeth Schuyler (1757–1854), who married Alexander Hamilton (1755/7–1804), later the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Elizabeth co-founded the first orphanage in New York City.^[5]
• Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler (1758–1801), who married Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764–1839), 8th Patroon.
• Cornelia (1761-1762).^[6]
• Unbaptized Twin to Cornelia (1761–1761).^[7]
• John Bradstreet Schuyler (1763–1764).^[8]
• John Bradstreet Schuyler (1765–1795), who married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (1768–1841), the sister of Stephen Van Rensselaer III who married his sister Peggy.^[9]
• Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (1768–1835), who married first, Sarah Rutsen (d. 1805), and after her death, Mary Anna Sawyer. Philip served in the United States House of Representatives.
• Triplets (1770–1770, Unbaptized).^[10]
• Rensselaer Schuyler (1773–1847), who married Elizabeth Ten Broeck, daughter of General Abraham Ten Broeck.
• Cornelia Schuyler (1776–1808), who married Washington Morton.^[11]
• Cortlandt Schuyler (1778–1778).^[12]
• Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler (1781–1857), who married first, Samuel Malcolm (son of William Malcolm), and then James Cochran (1769–1848), her cousin and the son of John Cochran and Gertrude Schuyler, Philip Schuyler's sister.^[13]

Schuyler's country home had been destroyed by General John Burgoyne's forces in September, 1777. Later that year, he began rebuilding on the same site, now located in southern Schuylerville, New York. This later home is maintained by the National Park Service as part of the Saratoga National Historical Park, and is open to the public.

Schuyler died at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany on November 18, 1804, four months after the death of his son-in-law, Alexander Hamilton, by Aaron Burr, the then Vice-President who had both succeeded and preceded Schuyler in the United States Senate. He is buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery at Menands, New York.

Legacy

To honor his legacy, many cities, structures, and statues have been named in his honor:

Statue outside Albany City Hall

• Schuyler County, Illinois, Schuyler County, Missouri and Schuyler County, New York were named in his honor.
• The town of Schuyler, New York is named for him, as is the village of Schuylerville, New York.
• Fort Schuyler, constructed 1833-56, at the tip of Throggs Neck (a narrow spit of land in the southeastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City) was named in his honor. The fort, built to defend the passage between the East River and Long Island Sound from sea invasion, now houses the Maritime Industry Museum and the State University of New York Maritime College.
• The Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy in Albany, New York is named in his and his son's honor.
• A statue of Schuyler, created by sculptor J. Massey Rhind in 1925 stands on the grounds of Albany's city hall.

References

Specific

1. NYSM: Philip Schuyler
2. Gerlach, Don R. (1964). Philip Schuyler and the American Revolution in New York, 1733-1777. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. p. 17.
3. John Cochran Office of Medical History
4. Catherine Van Rensselaer Find A Grave
5. "Republican Court: Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (1757-1854)". www.librarycompany.org. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
6. "Cornelia Schuyler (1761–1762)". FindAGrave. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
7. Schuyler Family Bible, Collections of Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, Albany, NY.
8. "John Bradstreet Schuyler". FindAGrave. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
9. Schuyler, George W. (1885). Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family, Volume 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 282.
10. Schuyler Family Bible, Collections of Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, Albany, NY.
11. "This Day in History: Cornelia Schuyler and Washington Morton are married!". Facebook: Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site. October 7, 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
12. "Philip Schuyler". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
13. Schuyler, George W. (1885). Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family, Volume 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 283.

General

• Barbagallo, Tricia (March 10, 2007). "Fellow Citizens Read a Horrid Tale" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-04.
• Revolutionary Enigma; A Re-Appraisal of General Philip Schuyler of New York by Martin H. Bush; 1969; (ISBN 0-87198-080-0).
• Life of General Philip Schuyler, 1733-1804 by Bayard Tuckerman; 1903; (1969 reprint ISBN 0-8369-5031-3).
• Proud Patriot: Philip Schuyler and the War of Independence, 1775-1783 by Don Gerlach; 1987; Syracuse University Press; (ISBN 0-8156-2373-9).
• The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 37f; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
• The Real George Washington by the National Center for Constitutional Studies; 1991; 2009 reprint ISBN 0-88080-014-3

External links

• United States Congress. "Philip Schuyler (id: S000154)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Co-Planner of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign Against the Iroquois
• Collection of Letters from Philip Schuyler
• Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy
• Finding Aid to Schuyler Family Collection, 1679-1823 at the New York State Library