Military officer; born in
Albany, N. Y., Nov. 22, 1733; inherited the whole of his father's estate, which he divided with his brothers
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and sisters, and also inherited from
Col. Philip Schuyler the
Saratoga estate, which he afterwards occupied.
He was a captain of provincial troops at
Fort Edward and
Lake George in 1755, became a
commissary in the army the same year, and held the office until 1763.
In 1756
Col. John Bradstreet was sent by
Shirley to provision the garrison at
Oswego.
With 200 provincial troops and forty companies of boatmen, he crossed the country from
Albany, by way of the
Mohawk River,
Wood Creek,
Oneida Lake, and the
Oswego River, and placed in the fort provision for 5,000 troops for six months. He was accompanied by
Schuyler, as chief commissary.
His descent of the
Oswego River had been observed by the
French scouts, and when he had ascended that stream about 9 miles he was attacked by a strong party of
French, Canadians, and
Indians.
These were driven from an island in the river, and there
Bradstreet made a defensive stand.
One of the Canadians, too severely wounded to fly with his companions, remained, and a boatman was about to despatch him, when
Schuyler saved his life.
When, soon afterwards,
Bradstreet abandoned the island, only one bateau was left.
It was scarcely large enough to carry the colonel and his little band of followers.
The wounded
Canadian begged to be taken in, but was refused.
“Then throw me into the river,” he cried, “and not leave me here to perish with hunger and thirst.”
The heart of
Schuyler was touched by the poor fellow's appeals, and, handing his weapons and coat to a companion-in-arms, he bore the wounded man to the water, swam with him across the deep channel, and placed him in the hands of a surgeon.
The soldier survived; and nineteen years afterwards, when
Schuyler, at the head of the
Northern Army of the Revolution, sent a proclamation in the
French language into
Canada, that soldier, living near
Chambly, enlisted under the banner of Ethan Allen, that he might see and thank the preserver of his life.
He went to
Schuyler's tent, on the
Isle aux Noix, and kissed the general's hand in token of his gratitude.
An influential member of the New York Assembly,
Schuyler was chiefly instrumental in stimulating early resistance to British encroachments on the rights of the colonists.
In the Continental Congress, in 1775, he, with
Washington, drew up the regulations for the army, and he was appointed one of the first
major-generals.
Assigned to the command of the
Northern Army, he was charged with planning and executing an invasion of
Canada.
An attack of gout prevented his conducting the campaign in person in the field, and after going with the army to the foot of
Lake Champlain, he relinquished the command to
Gen. Richard Montgomery (q. v.), his lieutenant, and returned to
Albany.
He however, addressed the inhabitants of
Canada in a circular letter, written in
French, informing them that “the only views of Congress were to restore to them their rights, which every subject of the
British Empire, of whatever religious sentiments he may be, is entitled to; and that, in the execution of these trusts, he had received the most positive orders to cherish every
Canadian and every friend to the cause of liberty, and sacredly to guard their property.”
The wise purposes of this circular were frustrated by the bigotry of
General Wooster, who saw no good in Roman Catholics, and the dishonesty of
Colonel Arnold, who cheated them.
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On his recovery from his attack of gout he entered with zeal upon his various duties as commander-in-chief of his department and principal Indian commissioner.
Annoyed by the insubordination and loose discipline of some of his troops —with interference with his authority and wicked slanders of men intriguing to put
General Gates in his place—he offered his resignation; but the
Congress, knowing his great worth, begged him to remain.
General Gates, piqued by the omission of the Continental Congress to appoint him one of the
major-generals in the army (June, 1775), but only adjutant-general, with rank of brigadier-general, indulged in unworthy intrigues for promotion.
He was a favorite with some of the leading men in Congress from
New England, and very soon a Gates faction appeared in that body.
When disaster overwhelmed the
American army in
Canada he was sent thither, by order of Congress, to take command of it, and, because his power was independent while the troops were in
Canada, he assumed that his command would
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The Schuyler arms. |
be independent in any part of the Northern Department.
When the troops were out of
Canada he assumed that independence.
Schuyler questioned his powers, and Congress was compelled to tell
Gates that he was subordinate to
Schuyler.
Late in 1776
Gates repaired to the
Congress at
Baltimore and renewed his intrigues so successfully that, on account of false charges against
Schuyler, he was appointed his successor in the command of the Northern Department in the spring of 1777.
The report of a committee of inquiry caused
Schuyler's reinstatement a few weeks afterwards.
Gates was angry, and wrote impertinent letters to his superiors.
He refused to serve under
Schuyler, who had always treated him with the most generous courtesy, but hastened to the
Congress, then in
Philadelphia, and, by the misrepresentation of one of his faction, was admitted to the floor of that body, where he so conducted himself as to receive rebuke.
A conspiracy for the removal of
Schuyler and the appointment of
Gates in his place soon ripened into action.
The evacuation of
Ticonderoga early in July (1777) was charged to
Schuyler's inefficiency, and he was even charged, indirectly, with treason.
So great became the clamor against him, especially from the constituents of
Gates's friends in Congress from
New England, that early in August those friends procured
Schuyler's removal and the appointment of
Gates to his place.
The patriotic
Schuyler, unmoved in his sense of duty by this rank injustice, received
Gates kindly and offered his services to the new commander, who treated the general with the greatest coolness.
The victories over
Burgoyne soon ensued, the whole preparation for which had been made by
Schuyler.
Left thus without command,
Schuyler's vigilance was of the utmost importance to the cause, and he was called “the eye of the Northern Department.”
His influence in keeping the Indians neutral was of incalculable importance to the
American cause at that time.
Schuyler resigned his commission in April, 1779.
As a member of Congress (1778-81) he was very efficient in military affairs, and was appointed to confer with
Washington concerning the campaign of 1780, especially in the Southern Department.
In the summer of 1781
Schuyler, withdrawn from military service, was at his home, just on the southern verge of the city of
Albany.
Plans had been matured for seizing him,
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Governor Clinton, and other leading patriots of the
State.
In August an attempt was made to abduct
Schuyler by
Walter Meyer,
a Tory, who had eaten bread at the general's table.
Meyer, at the head of a band of Tories, Canadians, and
Indians, repaired to the neighborhood of
Albany, where he seized a Dutch laborer and learned from him the precise condition of affairs at Schuyler's house.
He was allowed to depart after taking an oath of secrecy, but, with a mental reservation, he warned the general, and
Schuyler and his family were on the alert.
Just at twilight — of a sultry evening, a servant told the general that a stranger at the back gate desired to speak to him. He comprehended the errand.
The doors of the house were immediately closed and barred, the family went to the second story, and the general hastened to his room
for his fire-arms.
From the window he perceived that the house was surrounded by armed men. They were
Meyer and his gang.
To arouse his guard (three of whom were asleep on the grass), and, perchance, to alarm the town, he fired a pistol from his window.
At the same moment Indians burst open the doors below.
All these movements occurred in the space of a few minutes.
Mrs. Schuyler perceived that in the confusion in going up-stairs she had left her infant (afterwards
Mrs. C. V. R. Cochrane, of
Oswego, N. Y., where she died in August, 1857) in the cradle below.
She was about to rush to the rescue of her child, when the general restrained her. Her life was of more value than that of the infant.
Her little daughter Margaret (afterwards the wife of
Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer, the “patroon” ) ran down the stairs, snatched the baby from the cradle, and bore it up in safety.
As she was ascending an Indian threw a tomahawk at her. It went near the baby's head, through her dress, and stuck in the stair-railing.
At the same moment one of the miscreants, supposing her to be a servant, called out, “Wench!
Wench! Where is your master?”
With quick presence of mind, she replied, “Gone to alarm the town.”
The Tories were then in the dining-room, engaged in plunder.
The general threw up his window and called out, loudly, as to a multitude, “Come on, my brave fellows; surround the house and secure the villains
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who are plundering.”
The marauders retreated in haste, carrying away with them a quantity of silver-plate.
Three of the guards fought lustily, but were overpowered and carried away prisoners.
When they were exchanged the generous and grateful
Schuyler gave each of them a farm in
Saratoga county.
General Schuyler was one of the
New York State Senators; one of the principal contributors to the code of laws adopted by that State; and
United States Senator from 1789 to 1791, and again in 1797.
He was an earnest advocate of internal improvements for the development of the resources of the country, and he is justly called the “father of the canal system of the
United States.”
He was a man of large wealth.
He owned a fine mansion in the then southern suburbs of
Albany, and a plain one on his large estate at
Saratoga.
The latter, with its mills and other property, valued at $50,000, was destroyed by the
British at the time of
Burgoyne's invasion.
He died in
Albany, N. Y., Nov. 18, 1804.
