PHILIP SCHUYLER, soldier, was born 20 November 1733 in Albany, New York.
Philip inherited his father's vast estate, and the Saratoga estate
of Colonel Philip Schuyler. He attended the schools of Albany and studied under
a private tutor at New Rochelle, New York. In 1755 he recruited a company in
Albany, and was commissioned captain, 14 June 1755. He served under General
Phineas Lyman in the battle of Lake George, 8 September 1755; was stationed at
Fort Edward, 1755-1756, and was appointed a commissary in the army in 1755. He
was chief commissary to Colonel John Bradstreet in the spring of 1756, and
accompanied that general to Oswego, New York, to provision the fort there, taking
part in the action with the French and Indians near the fort. He resigned
from the British army in 1757, and in 1758 rejoined General Bradstreet as
commissary with the rank of Major. In 1758 he was sent to England as
Bradstreet's agent to settle the colonial claims, and on his return in 1763,
engaged in the lumber business at Saratoga. He also built the first flax mill
in America, for which he received a medal of the Society for Promoting Arts.
He was a boundary commissioner to settle the line between New York and
Massachusetts in 1764, and later served on the commission that settled the New
Hampshire boundary. He was a representative in the Colonial Assembly in 1768;
and nominated Edmund Burke as agent in England for the colony. He was
a delegate to the Continental Congress, 1775-1777, and served with George
Washington on the committee to draw up rules and regulations for the
Continental Army. On 19 June 1775, he was appointed one of the four
major-generals of the Continental Army, and was assigned to the command of the
northern department of New York, with headquarters at Albany. He began the
organization of an army for the invasion of Canada, but after going with the
army so far as Lake Champlain, and placing Ticonderoga in a state of defence,
he relinquished his command to General Richard Montgomery, his
lieutenant, and returning to Albany continued his work of raising troops. In
1776 he led the expedition to Johnstown and seized the military stores
collected by Sir John Johnston. He was opposed to the expedition to Canada,
and came in conflict with General Horatio Gates, who was in command of the army
in Canada. On 14 September 1776, he formally offered his resignation, which was
not accepted, and President Hancock of the Continental congress requested his
continuance in command. He was appointed chief of the militia in the state of
Pennsylvania in 1777. He was returned to his command of the northern
department of New York in June 1777. Burgoyne's advance from Canada caused
the evacuation of Ticonderoga by General Arthur St. Clair, 4 July 1777, but at
Bennington a great victory had been won by the Patriot army. On 19 August
1771, Gates was selected to command the army, and a court-martial was held to
investigate charges made against Schuyler to the effect that he was guilty of
neglect of duty in allowing the capture of Ticonderoga. The court found him
not guilty and acquitted him with the highest honor. He was again a delegate
to the Continental Congress, 1778-1781; resigned from the army, 19 April 1779,
and was chosen to confer with Washington on the state of the department of the
south. He was State Senator from the western district of New York, 1780-1784,
1786-1790 and 1792-1797. In 1781 he withdrew from military service and returned
to Albany. He was chairman of the board of commissioners for Indian affairs;
was appointed state Surveyor-General in 1782, and was a member of the council
of appointment of New York. He was chosen one of the first United States Senators
from New York in 1789, and drew the short term expiring, 3 March 1791, when
he was succeeded by Aaron Burr. He was deeply interested in the question of a
canal system connecting the Hudson river with Lake Champlain, and later
advocated a canal between the Hudson and Lake Erie. On 17 September 1755 he married
Catharine Van Rensselaer, a daughter of John Van Rensselaer. She died 7 March
1803. General Schuyler died 18 November 1804 in Albany, New York, and was buried
with military honors. In 1871 a Doric column of Quincy granite was erected to
his memory.
The Twentieth Century
Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume IX
|