Philip Schuyler

Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue, Slavery and History Reconsidered

July 21, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 4 Comments

A statue of Albany’s Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) has stood in front of City Hall since its dedication by Mayor William S. Hackett on June 25, 1925. The statue was a gift to the city from George C. Hawley, a beer baron whose family owned the Dobler Brewery in Albany, in memory of his wife Theodora M. Hawley.

In 2020, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan ordered it removed because Schuyler was a slaveholder. As Mayor Sheehan noted, removing the statue is one way of acknowledging the enduring legacy of slavery. [Read more…] about Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue, Slavery and History Reconsidered

Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition

March 21, 2022 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

In the first days of August, 1777, Albany seemed doomed to be overrun by the British. General John Burgoyne had taken Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort George, Fort Anne, Fort Edward and Fort Miller, the last substantial fortified place protecting the city from the north. To the west at Fort Stanwix, a siege was underway requiring many of General Philip Schyuler’s troops being sent to that fort’s defense from their camp on Van Schaick Island, now in the city of Cohoes.

Burgoyne however, had severely stretched his supply line. He was now having problems bringing up food and supplies over primitive roads that had been severely rutted and nearly destroyed by the Revolutionaries. He had to slow down to wait for food and had to keep his supply line protected all the way back to Canada, spreading his troops more thinly. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition

Revolutionary Albany: Setbacks As The War Presses Toward Albany

March 7, 2022 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

After a late-summer of preparations, too late in the fall of 1775, the Colonial Army mounted a two-pronged invasion of Canada. General Schuyler invaded Montreal from Fort Ticonderoga and General Benedict Arnold attacked Quebec.

Schuyler fell ill and was replaced by General Richard Montgomery. Montgomery took Montreal and then marched to assist Arnold at Quebec. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: Setbacks As The War Presses Toward Albany

Revolutionary Albany: Supplying Ticonderoga, Dealing With Loyalists & Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Relations

March 2, 2022 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

In early May, 1775 the Revolutionary War was underway on largely local scale. The attack on the British forces leaving Lexington and Concord had happened less than a month earlier, and 4,500 British troops had landed in Boston.

The lightly defended Fort Ticonderoga was taken on the morning of May 10, 1775, in a surprise attack by the Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, with the help of Benedict Arnold. The fort had been held by the British for 16 years, since it was taken from the French in 1759. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: Supplying Ticonderoga, Dealing With Loyalists & Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Relations

Henry Knox, Phillip Schuyler and Lake Champlain’s Cannon in Boston

February 3, 2022 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

One of the iconic stories of the American Revolution is the laborious trek of a contingent of newly-minted patriots, led by Henry Knox, lugging cannon from the fort at Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to abandon Boston, an important early victory is our long fight for freedom.

Few may realize that important decisions while the expedition was in Saratoga County were key to the success of the mission. [Read more…] about Henry Knox, Phillip Schuyler and Lake Champlain’s Cannon in Boston

The Marquis de Chastellux’s Visit To Saratoga Battlefield

January 2, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The 1777 battles of Saratoga drew visitors to the region even before the Revolutionary War ended.

It is well known that the American victory at Saratoga garnered the outright support of the French. Not only did the French decide to send part of their navy, but they also sent troops under Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau.

A member of Rochambeau’s staff, François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux, was particularly interested in the Battles of Saratoga. Being the ninth child of an aristocratic family, Chastellux entered into a military career. Eventually his military career and his knowledge of English led him to join Rochambeau’s staff, which brought him to the United States. [Read more…] about The Marquis de Chastellux’s Visit To Saratoga Battlefield

‘Catherine Schuyler: A Woman of the Revolution’ Republished

November 22, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Book purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The biography Catherine Schuyler: A Woman of the Revolution by Mary Gay Humphreys (C. Scribner’s Sons, 1897), highlighting an important figure in Albany and American History, has been republished by HVA Press.

Valcour Island: Keeping The Cause of Liberty Alive

March 31, 2021 by Jack Kelly 2 Comments

The summer of 1776 was among the most perilous periods of the Revolutionary War, and almost all the action took place in New York. The young nation tottered on the edge of destruction that summer.

With an army of 20,000 men, George Washington could not hold New York City against an enemy force twice as large. The British drove him out of the city and across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. By December, he had 3,000 men left and was admitting to his brother, “I think the game is pretty near up.” [Read more…] about Valcour Island: Keeping The Cause of Liberty Alive

Hamilton Descendant Lends Objects to Schuyler Sisters Exhibition

November 3, 2019 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

Douglas Hamilton, a fifth great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, has lent objects to be shown in The Schuyler Sisters & Their Circle exhibition at the Albany Institute of History & Art.

The objects, recently on view at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia as part of their “Year of Hamilton” display, include a Society of the Cincinnati Eagle insignia owned by Alexander Hamilton and a gold mourning ring belonging to Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. [Read more…] about Hamilton Descendant Lends Objects to Schuyler Sisters Exhibition

Philip Schuyler: A Time to Remember

July 20, 2017 by Bruce Dearstyne 1 Comment

A recent post on here on The New York Almanack previewed Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton events at the Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site this month.

A recent article by Paul Grondahl, Director of the New York State Writer’s Institute, in the Albany Times Union noted that Schuyler Mansion is experiencing a spike in attendance due to the “Hamilton effect” – “a mysterious affliction created by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical that altered the lives of countless unsuspecting fans with a powerful history lesson embedded in hypnotic, rhyming lyrics and a hip-hop beat.”

It is notable that Hamilton, Schuyler’s son-in-law, who spent only a few years at Schuyler Mansion, is boosting popular attendance there. [Read more…] about Philip Schuyler: A Time to Remember