Philip Van Cortlandt (September 1, 1749 – November 5, 1831) was an American surveyor, landowner, and politician from

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. Van Cortlandt was the son of Pierre Van Cortlandt and brother of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr. He was a Continental Army officer during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and later served several terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Early life

Philip Van Cortlandt was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...

on September 1, 1749, in the Van Cortlandt ancestral home located on Stone Street, near the Battery. He died unmarried, on November 5, 1831, at

Van Cortlandt Manor Van Cortlandt Manor is a 17th-century house and property built by the van Cortland family located near the confluence of the Croton and Hudson Rivers in the village of Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County, New York, United States. The colonial ...

, and was a member of one of New York's most prominent families. He was the eldest son of Pierre Van Cortlandt and Joanna Livingston, daughter of Gilbert Livingston, a son of Robert Livingston. His great-grandfather was

Stephanus Van Cortlandt Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor' ...

, the first native-born Mayor of New York City, and his family were the

patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch '' patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms ...

s of

. Philip Van Cortlandt attended Coldenham Academy. In addition to exercising manorial rights while assisting in the management of the estate's farming and manufacturing activities, Philip Van Cortlandt was a civil engineer, and was active in New York's pre- Revolutionary War loyalist militia as a major. At the start of the Revolution, he resigned from the militia, and became active in politics as a founding member of the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

in 1775. He owned slaves.

American Revolution

During the Revolutionary War, Van Cortlandt commanded 4th Battalion of the New York Continental Infantry, served on

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's staff, and commanded the Continental Army's 2nd New York Regiment. He fought at the Battle of Saratoga, was with the Army at

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...

, and took part in the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 1779 ...

. In his memoir, Van Cortlandt recalled his activities during the 1777 Saratoga campaign. In the course of attempting to capture a British gunboat on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

on the night of the September 17, he and his men stumbled upon an advance guard of Burgoyne's British forces at a place he designated as "Blind Mores". Upon realizing that a main enemy encampment was nearby, Van Cortlandt dispatched messengers to Continental Army commanders in the area, including Benedict Arnold and

Enoch Poor Enoch Poor (June 21, 1736 (Old Style) – September 8, 1780) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was a ship builder and merchant from Exeter, New Hampshire. Biography Poor was born and raised ...

, and Daniel Morgan, informing them that "the Enemy was advancing so that they (the Continental Army) might make arrangements Immediately to check their (Burgoyne's troops) advance." Van Cortlandt's regiment occupied a position on the left flank, and played a significant role in the fighting on September 19 and in the subsequent Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, which led to Burgoyne's surrender on October 17. After Burgoyne's surrender, Van Cortlandt moved his regiment moved to Kingston, which Sir Henry Clinton had burned before his hasty retreat to New York; Van Cortlandt subsequently joined Washington at White Marsh, and then went into winter quarters at

. Van Cortlandt subsequently commanded the post at

Radnor Friends Meetinghouse Radnor Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house on Sproul and Conestoga Roads in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 1686, there were sufficient number of Friends in Radnor township to begin meetings at the house ...

; his regiment pursued the British during their retreat from Philadelphia, and took part in the June 1778 Battle of Monmouth. He rejoined the regiment in Poughkeepsie, and resumed the command during the winter of 1778 in the cantonments at New Windsor.

Sullivan Expedition

In the summer of 1779, Van Cortlandt's regiment took part in the

. Sullivan's adversary was the Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant, who combined his forces with those of Loyalist John Butler to attack the frontier settlements of New York and Pennsylvania. Van Cortlandt came to respect Brant's abilities, and hung his portrait at

after the war. The immediate task confronting Van Cortlandt was to clear a road from Easton through the Wyoming Territory, a distance of some sixty-five miles. He completed his portion of the road in thirty days. The difficulty of this project was recognized by Sullivan when he thanked Van Cortlandt and Colonel Oliver Spencer of the Fifth New Jersey Regiment for their "unparalleled exertions in clearing and repairing the road to Wyoming." In 1779 and 1780, Van Cortlandt was a member of the

Court Martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

that charged Benedict Arnold with improper conduct while in command of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. This was the third time that Van Cortlandt became directly embroiled with Benedict Arnold. This time, the Pennsylvania Provincial Council had accused Arnold of committing eight violations while supervising the city. A Congressional committee determined that some of the charges should be dismissed, others could only be tried in a civil court, and the remainder were subject to review by a court martial. According to Van Cortlandt's memoir, a minority sought to have Arnold cashiered out of the army; instead, he was merely reprimanded by

. It is now known that Arnold was guilty of some of the charges relating to

war profiteering A war profiteer is any person or organization that derives profit from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term typically carries strong negative connotations. General profiteering, making a profit criticized a ...

, but that a poor case was made against him by the Pennsylvania authorities. Van Cortlandt's correspondence regarding Arnold includes these two passages:

I remained time sufficient to discover the Vile conduct of Arnold in procuring a Vast Quantity of goods from the Merchants of Montrial which he intended and which I believe was appropriated to his benefit and also for improper conduct before the Court he would have been arrested himself, but escaped by procuring an order from Genl. Gates to send me the morning after the Court has adjourned, to Schenesborough (Whitehall) by which means the Court was dissolved, Hazen released from arrest, & Arnold escaped Sensure which he ought to have had.

Genl Arnold being under arrest for improper conduct in Philadelphia while he commanded there I was one of the court martial. M. G. Howe President and there were also on that court four officers who had been at Ticonderoga when Colo. Hazen was called on for trial as before related and we were for Cashiering Arnold but were overruled and he was sentenced to be reprimanded by the Commander-in-Chief. If all the court had known Arnold's former Conduct as well as myself how he and his Brigade Major had Robbed Merchants in Montreal he would have been Dismissed from serving any longer in our Army for he would have been cashiered if so he would never have had the Command at West Point and Major Andrew might have lived until this day."

In the fall of 1780, Van Cortlandt's regiment served as the Army's rear guard as it marched to Yorktown. There he commanded the New York Brigade in the trenches until

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

surrendered. He then took charge of the British prisoners on their march to Fredericksburg, and finally went into Winter quarters at Pompton, New Jersey. Van Cortlandt was commended for gallantry at Yorktown, and mustered out of the service at the end of the war with the rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Later career

Van Cortlandt served in local office, including

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the State of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, townships called "towns", and villages. (The only borou ...

of Cortlandt, member of the town school board, and town road commissioner. In 1788, Van Cortlandt was a member of the state convention which ratified the United States Constitution, and worked for its approval. He served in the New York State Assembly from 1788 to 1790, representing

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, and the New York State Senate from 1791 to 1793, representing the Southern District, which consisted of Kings, New York,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties. In January 1793, Van Cortlandt was elected to the

as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

, and he served eight terms, 1793 to 1809. Van Cortlandt's wartime portrait, copied from a miniature painted about the close of the Revolution, reveals his likeness to

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. Van Cortlandt accompanied

on Lafayette's 1824 Tour of the United States. His resemblance to Lafayette was used to advantage at least once. At a large reception Lafayette, wearied with handshaking, suddenly disappeared and left Van Cortlandt as a substitute. The guests, unaware of the change, departed satisfied that they had shaken hands with Lafayette.

Society of the Cincinnati

In 1783 Van Cortlandt was one of 35 officers who created the Society of the Cincinnati. He was an organizer of the New York Society of the Cincinnati, served on the committee creating its bylaws, and served as Treasurer from 1783 to 1788. Van Cortlandt was one of the Masters of Ceremony for the presentation of the gold eagle insignia and diploma to new members at the New York Society's first meeting, held July 4, 1786 at the City Tavern Club, formerly the home of Van Cortlandt's brother in law Stephen Delancey.

Death and burial

He died at

Croton-on-Hudson Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern sub ...

on November 5, 1831 and was buried in Hillside Cemetery,

Cortlandt Manor, New York Cortlandt Manor is a hamlet located in the Town of Cortlandt in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. Cortlandt Manor is situated directly east, north and south of Peekskill, and east of three sections of the Town of Cortlandt, ...

.Atlantic Observer
The Knickerbocker: The Magazine of the Low Countries
Volume 3, 1943, page 20 Van Cortlandt never married, and had no children; his sister Catharine Van Wyck resided with him after the death of her husband.

References

External links

*
The Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute
*New Netherland Institute
Philip van Cortlandt (1749–1831): Early Founder/Historic Leader
retrieved December 16, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Cortlandt, Philip 1749 births 1831 deaths Politicians from New York City People of the Province of New York Philip Livingston family Schuyler family American people of Dutch descent American people of Scottish descent Anti-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators Town supervisors in New York (state) American slave owners Continental Army officers from New York (state) People from Cortlandt Manor, New York