Schuyler, Philip John (skī`lər), 1733–1804, American Revolutionary general, b. Albany, N.Y. He was a member of one of the wealthiest colonial New York families. After serving in the French and Indian Wars French and Indian Wars, 1689–1763, the name given by American historians to the North American colonial wars between Great Britain and France in the late 17th and the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. he was a member of the New York assembly (1768–75) and of the Second Continental Congress (1775). He was a strong advocate of the colonial cause, and in the Revolution he was appointed (1775) a major general and head of the Northern Dept. After Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys captured Ticonderoga, Schuyler helped to plan the Quebec campaign (1775–76), but illness forced him to give his command to Gen. Richard Montgomery Montgomery, Richard, 1738?–1775, American Revolutionary general, b. Swords, Co. Dublin, Ireland. After entering the British army, he was sent (1757) to Canada in the French and Indian Wars and saw action at Louisburg, Ticonderoga, and Montreal before
..... Click the link for more information. . When Gen. Arthur St. Clair surrendered (1777) Ticonderoga without a shot, Schuyler was accused of negligence and Horatio Gates was given the high command in the Saratoga campaign (1777–78). At his own insistence, Schuyler was brought before a court-martial and acquitted by it, but he then resigned (1779) from the army. He was (1779–80) a member of the Continental Congress, he favored adoption of the Constitution, and he was (1789–91, 1797–98) U.S. Senator. He advocated a canal (eventually the Erie Canal) and helped found Union College. His house (built 1777) in Schuylerville, N.Y., is a national monument. Schuyler's daughter, Elizabeth, married Alexander Hamilton.

Bibliography

See biography by B. Tuckerman (1903, repr. 1969); studies by D. R. Gerlach (1964) and M. H. Bush (1969).

Schuyler, Philip John

(born Nov. 11, 1733, Albany, N.Y.—died Nov. 18, 1804, Albany, N.Y., U.S.) American Revolutionary officer. He served in the French and Indian War and helped settle colonial war claims with Britain (1761–63). He served in the New York legislature (1768–75) and in the Continental Congress (1775–77, 1778–80). In the American Revolution he was commissioned one of four major generals in the Continental Army. As commander of the northern department, he was unable, because of illness, to undertake his planned invasion of Canada. His later defeat at the Battle of Ticonderoga led to his replacement by Horatio Gates. He subsequently served as one of New York's first U.S. senators (1789–91, 1797–98).

Schuyler, Philip John (1733–1804) soldier, landowner, U.S. senator; born in Albany, N.Y. A wealthy New York landowner, he was appointed major general in 1775 and he organized the campaign against British Canada. He successfully used delaying tactics which held up Burgoyne's invasion (1777) until vital Continental reinforcements arrived. Following accusations of negligence, he demanded and received a court-martial (1778) where he was acquitted with honors regarding the loss of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777. He later served as a United States senator (1789–91, 1797–98).