In 1775, only fifteen years had elapsed since the expulsion of the New France from Canada following the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The concentration of French power in the valley of the St. Lawrence had impressed upon the minds of colonial leaders the importance of Lake Champlain, of its tributary Lake George, and of the Hudson River, as forming a consecutive, if not continuous, water line of communications from the St. Lawrence River to the city of New York. [Read more…] about The Naval Campaign on Lake Champlain in 1775-1776
Philip Schuyler
Financing the Revolution: National, State & Local Currencies
The New York Provincial Congress was one of the first revolutionary bodies to outline a new inter-colonial program to finance the Revolutionary War.
On May 26, 1775, only two weeks after the Second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia, the Provincial Congress wrote to New York’s delegates that it was “clearly impossible” to raise by taxes a sum “adequate to the public service” and that it was equally certain that the existing paper money of the various states could not obtain ‘”universal circulation.” [Read more…] about Financing the Revolution: National, State & Local Currencies
The Christopher Yates Papers Reveal Revolutionary Details
Christopher Yates (1737-1785) of Schenectady was a surveyor by trade, a job that brought him into the frequent employ of Sir William Johnson. When the French and Indian War began in 1755, Yates joined the Second Albany Militia, serving under Johnson at some of the most crucial battles.
He was among the British troops defeated at Ticonderoga early in the contest during the July 8, 1758 Battle of Carillon, the bloodiest event of the war, with over 3,000 causalities. He later participated in the successful siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759. [Read more…] about The Christopher Yates Papers Reveal Revolutionary Details
New York’s Uncertainty Over The Declaration of Independence
At the outset of the emerging American Revolution there was no intent to overthrow the established social order, nor to subvert the government of the British Empire.
Most colonists wanted self-government, self taxation and direct representation within the empire, and professed to stand for their old and recognized rights as men and as Englishmen under the British constitution, which they believed a blind parliament and an obstinate ministry were violating. [Read more…] about New York’s Uncertainty Over The Declaration of Independence
New York’s Revolutionary Provincial Congresses 1775-1776
By May 1775 civil war between the American colonies and the British government had begun. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the seizures of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point told the story of an appeal to arms.
Town, county, city and state committees, as representatives of the people, assumed the functions of government, took the initiative in opposing the objectionable acts of the British parliament, and gradually, perhaps more or less unconsciously, prepared the people for the Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about New York’s Revolutionary Provincial Congresses 1775-1776
Benjamin Franklin’s Travels Through Upstate New York in 1776
A 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin passed through upstate New York in the spring of 1776 on a mission to Canada that failed in the moment but helped shape the American Revolution.
Traveling north in poor health, Franklin traveled up the Hudson River, passing through Albany, Saratoga, and up Lake Champlain, reaching Montreal in April 1776. [Read more…] about Benjamin Franklin’s Travels Through Upstate New York in 1776
Christopher Wren: Veteran Journalist, Ethan Allen Biographer, Dies at 89
“Over three decades, he reported from Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and elsewhere and wrote well-received books based on his reporting, including one about his globe-trotting cat,” The New York Times obituary remembering Christopher Wren recalls.
The former journalist, writer, and Vermont Historical Society Trustee passed away in February at the age of 89 at his home in Thetford, VT. [Read more…] about Christopher Wren: Veteran Journalist, Ethan Allen Biographer, Dies at 89
Surveying The Champlain Canal Route, 1792
What follows is a report made by the directors of the Northern Inland Lock Navigation Company of the country between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. The expedition during which this survey was conducted was led by Philip Schuyler in September 1792 to establish a route for the Champlain Canal.
By the act of incorporation, the navigation of Hudson River, from the mouth of the creek on which the grist mill occupied by Colonel Rensselaer [Nicholas Van Rensselaer, 1754-1848, or Colonel Kiliaen van Rensselaer, 1717–1781] is erected in the town of Troy [possibly the Poesten Kill or Wynants Kill] to opposite the house of Mr. Tibbets [George Tibbits, 1763–1849] in Lansingburg is to be rendered navigable for boats drawing four feet water when loaded. [Read more…] about Surveying The Champlain Canal Route, 1792
Knox’s Noble Train at Crown Point, Fort Ti & Fort George
The latest episode of the Lake George Battlefield Moments podcast features Dr. Matt Keagle, Curator at the Fort Ticonderoga Association, discussing the origins and original plans for the movement of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point to their eventual placement at Boston to assist General George Washington‘s Patriots in forcing the British evacuation there. [Read more…] about Knox’s Noble Train at Crown Point, Fort Ti & Fort George
Angelica Schuyler Church: A Woman at the Center of Revolution
Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025) by Molly Beer is a women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church (1756-1814), the eldest daughter of General Philip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer.
The Van Rensselaers of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck were one of the wealthiest and most politically influential families in what was then the still heavily Dutch-influenced Province of New York. [Read more…] about Angelica Schuyler Church: A Woman at the Center of Revolution
Baron Dieskau: A New Epitaph
Most books written about the French and Indian War and the Battle of Lake George close with a wounded and defeated General Jean-Armand de Dieskau and a few sentences in a closing paragraph or footnote to wrap up the general’s movements from North America to Europe and his death in 1767.
Dieskau has been forgotten by history, just as he was forgotten and abandoned during the Seven Years War/French and Indian War. [Read more…] about Baron Dieskau: A New Epitaph
Clearing Iroquoia: New York’s 1779 Land Grab
In 1778, George Washington, Philip Schuyler, army officers, and New York officials began planning invasions against Iroquoia, the homeland of the Haudenosaunee and several other allied Indigenous nations.
This invasion was one of the largest American offensives of the Revolutionary War, curated to punish the Haudenosaunee for raids against frontier settlements in New York and Pennsylvania. However, the resulting 1779 campaigns of Goose Van Schaick, Daniel Brodhead, and Generals John Sullivan and James Clinton were not simple retaliation. [Read more…] about Clearing Iroquoia: New York’s 1779 Land Grab
A Candlelight Resolve: General Schuyler’s Faith in Washington and America’s Future
On January 15, 1777, in Saratoga along the “Fish Kill” in the cold of winter, General Philip Schuyler wrote a heartfelt letter to his friend General George Washington. “The pleasure I felt on Learning your Success At Trentown Occassioned Feelings… I very Sincerely congratulate you on that Event and the Succeding ones.” [Read more…] about A Candlelight Resolve: General Schuyler’s Faith in Washington and America’s Future
Heritage Profile: Fort Edward & Rogers Island in the Hudson River
Native Americans began hunting and fishing on Rogers Island and along the Hudson River in what would later become the town of Fort Edward in Washington County, NY, at least 6,000 years ago.
Archaeologists working there have unearthed thousands of stone tools, pottery sherds and other artifacts as well as features like hearths from the Late Archaic, Transitional, Middle Woodland and Late Woodland Periods. These first indigenous inhabitants left behind their hearths, trash pits, stone tools, and pottery as they hunted, fished and traveled in the area. [Read more…] about Heritage Profile: Fort Edward & Rogers Island in the Hudson River
Schuyler House: A Tale of Destruction and Rebirth
As the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga approaches, the story of General Philip Schuyler’s house stands as a powerful testament to the resilience of early Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Located in Schuylerville, in Saratoga County, New York, this historic estate embodies the struggle, sacrifice, and determination that shaped a new nation. [Read more…] about Schuyler House: A Tale of Destruction and Rebirth
1745: The First Battle of Saratoga
The First Battle of Saratoga took place during King George’s War (1744-1748) in November 1745. A force of French and Native allies set out from Fort St. Frederic at Crown Point to attack English colonies in either New England or Albany.
When deep snow made travel into New England impractical, they turned toward Old Saratoga, now known as Schuylerville in Saratoga County, NY (near where the 1777 Battles of Saratoga would later take place during the American Revolution). [Read more…] about 1745: The First Battle of Saratoga
The French and Indian War: A New York Perspective
In the early 1750s, the French were establishing trading posts and building forts along western the frontiers of the British colonies. In the fall of 1753, in part to protect his own claims on Indigenous lands, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie had sent 22-year-old George Washington (then a militia leader and surveyor) to deliver a letter to Fort Le Boeuf at what is today Waterford in northwest Pennsylvania, demanding they stop. [Read more…] about The French and Indian War: A New York Perspective
Early Forts Near Old Saratoga: Some History
Many of the descriptions about fortifications in the Upper Hudson Valley, close to New France, were written by soldiers, travelers and settlers during the wars in the 18th century and into the 19th century.
Since many of the North American colonies were defended by Independent Companies, the regular English and, later, British armies had little direct influence on fortification designs, which created a high demand for the assistance of military engineers. [Read more…] about Early Forts Near Old Saratoga: Some History
Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue Removed From City Hall
A statue of Philip J. Schuyler (1733-1804) has been removed from outside of Albany’s City Hall. Mayor Kathy Sheehan ordered the statue removed in 2020 because Schuyler was a slaveholder. Sheehan said at the time that removing the statue was one way to acknowledge the enduring legacy of slavery. [Read more…] about Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue Removed From City Hall
Marquis de Lafayette at Albany During the Revolution
Just prior to victory of American colonists at the Battles of Saratoga, the Continental Congress replaced Major General Philip Schuyler as Commander of the Northern Army with General Horatio Gates. Many colonial military units from New England had been reluctant to assist at Saratoga to serve under a “Dutch commander” but readily reported to serve under the English-born Gates. [Read more…] about Marquis de Lafayette at Albany During the Revolution