Philip Schuyler | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Jacob H. Lazarus after a miniature byJohn Trumbull | |
| United States Senator fromNew York | |
| In office March 4, 1797 – January 3, 1798 | |
| Preceded by | Aaron Burr |
| Succeeded by | John Sloss Hobart |
| In office July 16, 1789 – March 3, 1791 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Aaron Burr |
| 1stSurveyor General of New York | |
| In office March 30, 1781 – May 13, 1784 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Simeon De Witt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1733-11-20)November 20, 1733 |
| Died | November 18, 1804(1804-11-18) (aged 70) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Albany Rural Cemetery[1] |
| Party | Federalist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parent(s) | Johannes Schuyler, Jr. Cornelia van Cortlandt |
| Relatives | SeeSchuyler family |
| Profession | Soldier,Statesman |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Great Britain United States |
| Branch/service | New York Provincial Troops New York Militia Continental Army |
| Years of service | 1755–1767 (N.Y. Militia) 1775–1779 (Continental Army) |
| Rank | Captain (NY) Colonel (NY) Major general (USA) |
| Battles/wars | |
Philip John Schuyler (/ˈskaɪlər/; November 20, 1733 – November 18, 1804) was an American general in theRevolutionary War and aUnited States Senator fromNew York.[2] He is usually known asPhilip Schuyler, while his son is usually known asPhilip J. Schuyler.
Born inAlbany,Province of New York, into the prosperousSchuyler family, Schuyler fought in theFrench and Indian War. He won election to theNew York General Assembly in 1768 and to theContinental Congress in 1775. He planned theContinental Army's 1775Invasion of Quebec, but poor health forced him to delegate command of the invasion toRichard Montgomery. He prepared the Continental Army's defense of the 1777Saratoga campaign, but was replaced by Major GeneralHoratio Gates as the commander of Continental forces in the theater. Schuyler resigned from the Continental Army in 1779.
Schuyler served in theNew York State Senate for most of the 1780s and supported the ratification of theUnited States Constitution. He represented New York in the1st United States Congress but lost his state's 1791 Senate election toAaron Burr, a foe of his son-in-law. After a period in the state senate, he won election to the United States Senate again in 1797, affiliating with theFederalist Party. He resigned due to poor health the following year. He was the father ofElizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and the father-in-law ofSecretary of the TreasuryAlexander Hamilton.
Philip John Schuyler was born on November 21 [O.S. November 10] 1733[3] inAlbany, New York, toCornelia Van Cortlandt (1698–1762) andJohannes ("John") Schuyler Jr. (1697–1741), the third generation of the DutchSchuyler family in America. His maternal grandfather wasStephanus Van Cortlandt, the 17thMayor of New York City.[4]
Before his father died on the eve of his eighth birthday, Schuyler attended the public school in Albany.[5] Afterward, he was educated by tutors at theVan Cortlandt family estate atNew Rochelle. Fluent in both Dutch and English from childhood,[6] in 1748 he began to study with Reverend Peter Strouppe at the New Rochelle French Protestant Church, where he learned French and mathematics.[5] While he was at New Rochelle he also joined numerous trade expeditions where he metIroquois leaders and learned to speakMohawk.[6]
Schuyler joined the British forces in 1755 during theFrench and Indian War, raised a provincial company, and was commissioned as itscaptain by his cousin, Lieutenant GovernorJames Delancey.[5] In 1756, he accompanied British officer ColonelJohn Bradstreet to Oswego, where he gained experience as a quartermaster, which ended when the outpostfell to the French.[5] Schuyler took part in the battles ofLake George,Oswego River (Battle Island),Carillon andFort Frontenac.[5]
After the war, Bradstreet sent Schuyler to England to settle Bradstreet's reimbursement claims for expenses he incurred during the war effort, and he remained in England from 1760 to 1763.[7] After returning toBritish America he took over management of several farms and business enterprises in upstate New York, including a lumber venture inSaratoga.[8] In addition, Schuyler was responsible for constructing the first flax mill in the American colonies.[9] Schuyler became colonel and commander of a militia district regiment in 1767.[10] In 1768, he served as a member of the New York Assembly.[11]
Schuyler was elected to theContinental Congress in 1775 and served until he was appointed a major general of theContinental Army in June. General Schuyler took command of theNorthern Department and planned theInvasion of Quebec. His poor health required him to placeRichard Montgomery in command of the invasion.[12] In 1777, he again served in the Continental Congress.
After returning to the command of the Northern Department in 1777, Schuyler was active in preparing a defense against theSaratoga Campaign, part of a British "Three Pronged Attack" strategy to cut the American Colonies in two by invading and occupying New York. During his preparation efforts, Schuyler complained to Major GeneralWilliam Heath about the quality of the reinforcements sent to him, writing that "one third of the few that have been sent are boys, aged men and negroes, who disgrace our arms ... Is it consistent with the Sons of Freedom to trust their all to be defended by slaves?"[13]
In the summer of 1777, John Burgoyne marched his army south from Quebec and through the valleys of Lakes Champlain and George. On the way he invested the small American garrison occupying Fort Ticonderoga at the nexus of the two lakes. When GeneralArthur St. Clair abandonedFort Ticonderoga in July, Congress replaced Schuyler with GeneralHoratio Gates, who had accused Schuyler of dereliction of duty. In 1778, Schuyler andArthur St. Clair faced a court of inquiry over the loss of Ticonderoga, and both were acquitted.[14][15]
The British offensive was eventually stopped by Continental Army then under the command of conflict andBenedict Arnold in theBattles of Saratoga. That victory, the first complete victory over 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 Continental Army on April 19, 1779. He then served in two more sessions of the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780.
As a prominent politician andPatriot leader in New York, Schuyler was the subject of an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt, which was plotted and led byJohn Walden Meyers on August 7, 1781. Schuyler was able to vacate his Albany mansion before the kidnappers arrived.[16] Schuyler was an original member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati.
After the war, he expanded his Saratoga estate to tens of thousands of acres, adding slaves, tenant farmers, a store, and mills for flour, flax, and lumber. He built several schooners on theHudson River, and named the firstSaratoga. According to the Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, Schuyler as many as 40 slaves between the Albany and Saratoga estates.[17] In 1785, he was a founder of theNew York Manumission Society, which advocated for gradual abolition.[18] In 1790, he enslaved 27 persons.[19] In 1800, he owned about 11; at his death in 1804, he had none, having either conveyed them to others or manumitted them.[19]
He was a member of theNew York State Senate from 1780 to 1784, and at the same timeNew York State Surveyor General from 1781 to 1784.[20] Afterwards he returned to the State Senate from 1786 to 1790, where he actively supported the adoption of theUnited States Constitution.[21]
In1789, he was elected aU.S. Senator from New York to theFirst United States Congress, serving from July 27, 1789, to March 3, 1791. After losing his bid for re-election in1791 to Aaron Burr, he returned to the State Senate from 1792 to 1797. In1797, he was selected again to the U.S. Senate and served in the5th United States Congress from March 4, 1797, until his resignation because of ill health on January 3, 1798.[22]
_-_1999.27.43_-_Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum_(cropped).jpg)
According to the Schuyler Family's Bible, on September 7, 1755, he married Catherine Van Rensselaer (1734–1803) at Albany. In the Bible entry, he was called "Philip Johannes Schuyler" and she was called "Catherina Van Rensselaer". She was the daughter ofJohannes Van Rensselaer (1707/08–1783) and his first wife, Engeltje Livingston (1698–1746/47). Johannes was the grandson ofHendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740). Engeltje was the daughter ofRobert Livingston the Younger. Philip and Catherine had 15 children together, eight of whom survived to adulthood, including:
Schuyler's country home had been destroyed by GeneralJohn Burgoyne's forces in October 1777. Later that year, he began rebuilding on the same site, now located in southern Schuylerville, New York. This later home is maintained by theNational Park Service as part of theSaratoga National Historical Park, and is open to the public.
Schuyler died at theSchuyler Mansion in Albany on November 18, 1804, four months after his son-in-law,Alexander Hamilton, was killed ina duel and two days before his 71st birthday. He is buried atAlbany Rural Cemetery inMenands, New York.
Geographic locations and buildings named in Schuyler's honor include:
Schuyler was depicted byJohn Trumbull in his 1821 paintingSurrender of General Burgoyne, which hangs in theUnited States Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C.
Major General Philip Schuyler, a bronze statue by sculptorJ. Massey Rhind, was erected outsideAlbany City Hall in 1925. In June 2020, Albany mayorKathy Sheehan signed an executive order for the statue to be removed and given to a "museum or other institution for future display with appropriate historical context" because Schuyler owned slaves.[32] The statue was requested the next day by the mayor ofSchuylerville, New York, who suggested that it be moved toSchuyler House.[33] In the early morning of June 10, 2023, the statue was removed from its pedestal, then transported by trailer to an undisclosed storage location.[34] After the statue was removed, a time capsule was discovered underneath in a sealed metal box.[35]
The non-speaking role of Philip Schuyler was originated by ensemble member Sydney James Harcourt in the 2015Broadway musicalHamilton, in which Schuyler's son-in-lawAlexander Hamilton is thetitle character.[36]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by new office | New York State Surveyor General 1781–1784 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by None | U.S. senator (Class 1) from New York 1789–1791 Served alongside:Rufus King | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 1) from New York 1797–1798 Served alongside:John Laurance | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
