Philip Schuyler#Family and Relatives

{{Short description|American politician and general (1733–1804)}}

{{About||Schuyler's son, the U.S. Representative|Philip Jeremiah Schuyler|Schuyler's great-grandson|Philip Schuyler (born 1836)|the Dutch-born colonist landowner|Philip Pieterse Schuyler}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Philip Schuyler

| image = Schuyler.jpg

| caption = Portrait by Jacob H. Lazarus after a miniature by John Trumbull

| jr/sr = United States Senator

| state = New York

| term_start1 = July 16, 1789

| term_end1 = March 3, 1791

| preceded1 = Office established

| succeeded1 = Aaron Burr

| term_start = March 4, 1797

| term_end = January 3, 1798

| preceded = Aaron Burr

| succeeded = John Sloss Hobart

| office2 = 1st Surveyor General of New York

| term_start2 = March 30, 1781

| term_end2 = May 13, 1784

| preceded3 = Office established

| succeeded3 = Simeon De Witt

| birth_name = Philip Schuyler

| birth_date = {{birth date|1733|11|20}}

| birth_place = Albany, Province of New York, British America

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1804|11|18|1733|11|20}}

| death_place = Albany, New York, U.S.

| resting_place = Albany Rural CemeteryColumn atop a large base. Sec. 29, lot 2, Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, Albany, NY., Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 42147). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

| party = Pro-Administration,
Federalist

| parents = Johannes Schuyler, Jr.
Cornelia van Cortlandt

| spouse = {{marriage|Catherine Van Rensselaer|1755|1803|end=d}}

| relatives = See Schuyler family

| children = {{hlist|Angelica|Elizabeth|Peggy|John|Philip|Rensselaer|Cornelia|Catherine}}

| residence =

| alma_mater =

| profession = Soldier, Statesman

| allegiance = {{flagicon image|Red ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800, square canton).svg}} Province of New York (1755-1767)
{{flagicon image|Betsy Ross flag.svg}} United States (1767-1779)

| branch = New York Provincial Troops
New York Colonial Militia
Continental Army

| rank = Captain (NY)
Colonel (NY)
Major general (USA)

| serviceyears =

| battles =

}}

Philip John Schuyler ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|aɪ|l|ər}}; November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/s/phschuyler1750.html |title=NYSM: Philip Schuyler |access-date=2012-02-02 |archive-date=2015-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023121607/http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/s/phschuyler1750.html |url-status=dead }} He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.

Born in Albany, Province of New York, into the prosperous Schuyler family, Schuyler fought in the French and Indian War. He won election to the New York General Assembly in 1768 and to the Continental Congress in 1775. He planned the Continental Army's 1775 Invasion of Quebec, but poor health forced him to delegate command of the invasion to Richard Montgomery. He prepared the Continental Army's defense of the 1777 Saratoga campaign, but was replaced by Major General Horatio Gates as the commander of Continental forces in the theater. Schuyler resigned from the Continental Army in 1779.

Schuyler served in the New York State Senate for most of the 1780s and supported the ratification of the United States Constitution. He represented New York in the 1st United States Congress but lost his state's 1791 Senate election to Aaron Burr. After a period in the state senate, he won election to the United States Senate again in 1797, affiliating with the Federalist Party. He resigned due to poor health the following year. He was the father of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and the father-in-law of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

Early life

Philip John Schuyler was born on {{OldStyleDate|November 20|1733|November 9}}{{cite book |last=Gerlach |first=Don R. |date=1964 |title=Philip Schuyler and the American Revolution in New York, 1733–1777 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wi6CAAAAIAAJ&q=%22old+style%22 |location=Lincoln, NE |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |page=17|isbn=9780598239891 }} in Albany, New York, to Cornelia Van Cortlandt (1698–1762) and Johannes ("John") Schuyler Jr. (1697–1741), the third generation of the Dutch Schuyler family in America. His maternal grandfather was Stephanus Van Cortlandt, the 17th Mayor of New York City.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|p=9}}

Before his father died on the eve of his eighth birthday, Schuyler attended the public school in Albany.{{cite web |url=https://www.albany.edu/arce/Schuyler4.html |title=Biography, Philip John Schuyler (1733–1804) |date=2019 |website=ARCE: Albany Rural Cemetery Explorer |publisher=University at Albany SUNY and Albany Rural Cemetery |location=Albany, NY |access-date=2020-06-08}} Afterward, he was educated by tutors at the Van Cortlandt family estate at New Rochelle. Fluent in both Dutch and English from childhood,{{cite book |last=Howard |first=Hugh |date=2012 |title=Houses of the Founding Fathers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TcetCkeHCqgC&pg=PA160 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Artisan |page=160 |isbn=978-1-5796-5510-5 |via=Google Books}} 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.

Schuyler joined the British forces in 1755 during the French and Indian War, raised a provincial company, and was commissioned as its captain by his cousin, Lieutenant Governor James Delancey. In 1756, he accompanied British officer Colonel John Bradstreet to Oswego, where he gained experience as a quartermaster, which ended when the outpost fell to the French. Schuyler took part in the battles of Lake George, Oswego River, Carillon and Fort Frontenac.

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.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|pp=65-66}} After returning to British America he took over management of several farms and business enterprises in upstate New York, including a lumber venture in Saratoga.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|pp=70-71}} In addition, Schuyler was responsible for constructing the first flax mill in the American colonies.{{cite book|last=Lossing|first=Benson John|author-link=Benson John Lossing|title=The Life and Times of Philip Schuyler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54GIvGkTHgYC&pg=PA320|access-date=2018-02-26|date=February 2009|publisher=Applewood Books|isbn=9781429016827|page=219 |ref={{sfnRef|Lossing}}}} Schuyler became colonel and commander of a militia district regiment in 1767.Lossing 2009, p. 218. In 1768, he served as a member of the New York Assembly.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|pp=79-80}}

American Revolution

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 Quebec. His poor health required him to place Richard Montgomery in command of the invasion.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|pp=112–114}} In 1777, he again served in the Continental Congress.

=Saratoga campaign=

After returning to the command of the Northern Department in 1777, Schuyler was active in preparing a defense against the Saratoga 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 General William 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?"{{cite web | url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/11/slavery-eyes-revolutionary-generals/ | title=Slavery through the Eyes of Revolutionary Generals | date=7 November 2017 }}

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 General Arthur St. Clair abandoned Fort Ticonderoga in July, Congress replaced Schuyler with General Horatio Gates, who had accused Schuyler of dereliction of duty. In 1778, Schuyler and Arthur St. Clair faced a court of inquiry over the loss of Ticonderoga, and both were acquitted.{{sfn|Lossing|p=320}}{{cite web |url=https://armyhistory.org/major-general-arthur-st-clair/ |title=Major General Arthur St. Clair |date=January 27, 2015 |publisher=National Museum of the United States Army}}

The British offensive was eventually stopped by Continental Army then under the command of conflict and Benedict Arnold in the Battles 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.

Later career

As a prominent politician and Patriot leader in New York, Schuyler was the subject of an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt, which was plotted and led by John Walden Meyers on August 7, 1781. Schuyler was able to vacate his Albany mansion before the kidnappers arrived.{{Cite web|title=THE PLOT TO KIDNAP SCHUYLER|url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/01/plot-kidnap-schuyler/|last=McBurney|first=Christian M.|date=January 16, 2015|website=Journal of the American Revolution|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424005001/https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/01/plot-kidnap-schuyler/|archive-date=2020-04-24|access-date=2020-05-16}} Schuyler was an original member of the New York Society 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 the Hudson River, and named the first Saratoga. According to the Schuyler Mansion Historic Society, there were around 40 slaves between the Albany and Saratoga estates.{{Cite web|last=Mansion|first=Schuyler|date=2016-06-05|title=Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site: An Overview of Slave Trade in New Netherland, New York and Schuyler Mansion|url=https://schuylermansion.blogspot.com/2016/06/an-overview-of-slave-trade-in-new.html|access-date=2020-12-14|website=Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site}}

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.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|pp=253–254}} Afterwards he returned to the State Senate from 1786 to 1790, where he actively supported the adoption of the United States Constitution.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|pp=254–258}}

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 to Aaron Burr, he returned to the State Senate from 1792 to 1797. In 1797, he was selected 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.{{sfn|Tuckerman|1969|pp=257–258}}

Personal life

File:Walter Robertson - Mrs. Philip John Schuyler (Catherine van Rensselaer) - 1999.27.43 - Smithsonian American Art Museum (cropped).jpg, depicted in a portrait by Walter Robinson, {{Circa|1795}}]]

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 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). Engeltje was the daughter of Robert Livingston the Younger. 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 private orphanage in New York City.{{Cite web|title = Republican Court: Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (1757–1854)|url = https://www.librarycompany.org/women/republicancourt/hamilton_elizabeth.htm|website = www.librarycompany.org|access-date=2015-09-30}}
Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler (1758–1801), who married Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764–1839), 8th Patroon.
Cornelia Schuyler (1761–1762), a twin to the first John Bradstreet.
Unnamed Son Schuyler (1761–1761), a twin to Cornelia.Schuyler Family Bible, Collections of Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, Albany, NY.Eliza Hamilton The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo
John Bradstreet Schuyler (1763–1764).
John Bradstreet Schuyler (1765–1795), who married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (1768–1841), the sister of Stephen Van Rensselaer III who married his sister Peggy.{{Cite book|title=Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family, Volume 2|url=https://archive.org/details/colonialnewyorkp02schu|last=Schuyler|first=George W.|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=1885|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/colonialnewyorkp02schu/page/282 282]}}
Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (1768–1835), who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and who married Sarah Rutsen; after her death in 1805, he married Mary Anna Sawyer.
Triplets (1770–1770, Unbaptized).
Rensselaer Schuyler (1773–1847), who married Elizabeth Ten Broeck, daughter of General Abraham Ten Broeck.{{cite web|last1=Bielinski|first1=Stefan|title=Rensselaer Schuyler|url=https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/s/renschuyler.html|website=New York State Museum|access-date=2017-04-22}}
Cornelia Schuyler (1776–1808), who married Washington Morton.{{cite web|title=This Day in History: Cornelia Schuyler and Washington Morton are married!|url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/schuyler-mansion-state-historic-site/this-day-in-history-cornelia-schuyler-and-washington-morton-are-married/1156200911061451|website=Facebook: Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site|access-date=2016-04-08|date=October 7, 2015}}
Cortlandt Schuyler (1778–1778).{{cite web|title=Philip Schuyler|url=http://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/philip-schuyler_6454945|website=Ancestry.com|access-date=2016-04-08}}
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.{{Cite book|title=Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family, Volume 2|url=https://archive.org/details/colonialnewyorkp02schu|last=Schuyler|first=George W.|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=1885|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/colonialnewyorkp02schu/page/283 283]}}

Schuyler's country home had been destroyed by General John 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 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 his son-in-law, Alexander Hamilton, was killed in a duel and 2 days before his 71st birthday. He is buried at Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.

File:Schuyler Mansion Panorama Left.jpg|Schuyler Mansion, which was constructed from 1761 to 1765

File:GeneralSchylerHouse.JPG|Schuyler's Country House used during the Revolution, in Schuylerville

Legacy

File:PhilipSchuylerStatue.jpg]]

=Place names=

Geographic locations and buildings named in Schuyler's honor include:

Schuyler, New York
Schuylerville, New York
Schuyler County, New York, as well as Schuyler County, Illinois, and Schuyler County, Missouri
Fort Schuyler, a military fortification begun in 1833 at the tip of Throggs Neck in the Bronx, which now houses the Maritime Industry Museum and the State University of New York Maritime College
The Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy (named for Schuyler and his son Philip) in Albany, New York (name change expected in 2021){{Cite web|last=Williams|first=Michael|date=2020-06-19|title=Slave-owner Gen. Philip Schuyler's name coming off Albany school|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Slave-owner-Philip-Schuyler-s-name-coming-off-15351746.php|access-date=2020-12-14|website=Times Union|language=en-US}}

=Works of art=

Schuyler was depicted by John Trumbull in his 1821 painting Surrender of General Burgoyne, which hangs in the United States Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C.

Major General Philip Schuyler, a bronze statue by sculptor J. Massey Rhind, was erected outside Albany City Hall in 1925. In June 2020, Albany mayor Kathy 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", due to Schuyler's ownership of slaves.{{cite news |last1=Pitofsky |first1=Marina |title=Philip Schuyler statue to be removed from downtown Albany |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/502445-philip-schuyler-statue-to-be-removed-from-downtown-albany |journal=The Hill |access-date=2020-06-12 |date=June 12, 2020 }} The statue was requested the next day by the mayor of Schuylerville, New York, who suggested that it be relocated to Schuyler House.{{cite web |title=Schuylerville wants statue Albany's mayor wants removed |first=Mark |last=Mulholland |date=June 12, 2020 |website=WNYT-TV |location=Albany, NY |url=https://wnyt.com/albany-new-york-news/philip-schuyler-statue-albany-city-hall-schuylerville/5758742/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613212038/https://wnyt.com/albany-new-york-news/philip-schuyler-statue-albany-city-hall-schuylerville/5758742/ |archive-date=2020-06-13 }} In the early morning of June 10, 2023, the statue was removed from its pedestal to a trailer and transported to an undisclosed storage location.{{Cite web |last1=Seiler |first1=Casey |last2=Franco |first2=Jim |date=2023-06-10 |title=Albany's Schuyler statue removed |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/signs-point-possible-saturday-removal-schuyler-18145222.php |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}} After the statue was removed on June 10, 2023, a time capsule was discovered underneath in a sealed metal box.

=In popular culture=

The non-speaking role of Philip Schuyler was originated by ensemble member Sydney James Harcourt in the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton, in which Schuyler's son-in-law Alexander Hamilton is the title character.{{Cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/person/sydney-james-harcourt-vault-0000117613|title=Sydney James Harcourt {{!}} Playbill|website=Playbill|access-date=2017-01-12}}

References

External links

[https://www.sullivanclinton.com Co-Planner of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign Against the Iroquois]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130429161811/http://www.familytales.org/results.php?tla=pjs Collection of Letters from Philip Schuyler]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110821020409/http://saa.albany.k12.ny.us/ Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy]
[https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc19811.htm Finding Aid to Schuyler Family Collection, 1679–1823] at the New York State Library

{{succession box|before=new office|title=New York State Surveyor General|years=1781–1784|after=Simeon De Witt}}

{{U.S. Senator box|class=1|state=New York|before=None|after=Aaron Burr|years=1789–1791|alongside=Rufus King}}

{{U.S. Senator box|class=1|state=New York|before=Aaron Burr|after=John Sloss Hobart|years=1797–1798|alongside=John Laurance}}

Category:1733 births

Category:1804 deaths

Category:Politicians from Albany, New York

Category:People from colonial New York

Category:Schuyler family

Category:American people of Dutch descent

Category:Reformed Church in America members

Category:Continental Congressmen from New York (state)

Category:Pro-Administration Party United States senators from New York (state)