Military officer; born in Cortlandt Manor, N. Y., Sept. 1, 1749; son of
Pierre Van Cortlandt; became a land surveyor at the age of nineteen years, but when the
Revolutionary War began he entered the military service as lieutenant-colonel.
His Tory relatives had tried to dissuade him from this step, and
Governor Tryon sent him a commission as colonel of militia, which he destroyed.
In 1776 he was made colonel of the 2d New York Regiment, with which he fought at Bemis's Heights and
Saratoga.
In the winter of 1778 he was sent to protect the New York frontiers against the Indians under
Brant.
He was a member of the court that tried
General Arnold for improper conduct at
Philadelphia, and was in favor of cashiering him. “Had all the court,” wrote
Van Cortlandt in his diary, “known
Arnold's former conduct as well as myself, he would have been dismissed the service.”
In 1780 he commanded a regiment under
Lafayette; was with him in
Virginia; and for his gallant conduct at
Yorktown was promoted to brigadiergeneral.
At the close of the war he retired to the
Manor-house.
From 1788 to 1790 he was a member of the New York legislature, and also of the State convention that adopted the national Constitution.
He was
United States Senator from 1791 to 1794, and member of Congress from 1793 to 1809.
Lafayette was accompanied by
General Van Cortlandt in his tour through the
United States in 1824-25.
He died in Cortlandt Manor, N. Y., Nov. 5, 1831.
