Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also the maternal grandfather of ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'' author

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

Early life

Peter Gansevoort was born into the Dutch aristocracy of Albany in the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

. His parents were Harman Gansevoort (1712–1801), the third generation of his family to live in America, and Magdalena Douw (1718–1796). His younger brother was

Leonard Gansevoort Leendert "Leonard" Gansevoort (July 14, 1751 – August 26, 1810) was an American political leader from New York who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1788. Early life He was born in 1751 in Albany County, New York to Harmen Ga ...

, who was more active politically, serving in the state assembly and senate, as well as the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. Gansevoort's paternal ancestors had been in Albany since 1660, when it was the Dutch colony of

Fort Orange Fort Orange () was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland; the present-day city and state capital Albany, New York developed near this site. It was built in 1624 as a replacement for Fort Nassau, which had been built on n ...

, and

Harmen Harmense Gansevoort Harmen Harmense Gansevoort ( – July 23, 1709) was an early American settler, brewer, landowner, and patriarch of the Gansevoort family. Early life Harmen Harmense Gansevoort was born ca. 1634 in Dersum, Prince-Bishopric of Münster, Holy R ...

owned a brewery and farms. Through his mother, he was related to New York's Van Rensselaer family as her mother, and Gansevoort's maternal grandmother, was Anna Van Rensselaer (1696–1756), a daughter of Hendrick van Rensselaer, the director of the Eastern patent of the

Rensselaerswyck Rensselaerswyck was a Dutch colonial patroonship and later an English manor owned by the van Rensselaer family located in the present-day Capital District of New York in the United States. The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West In ...

manor. In addition, his first cousin, Leonard Gansevoort (1754–1834), an Albany lawyer and alderman, was married to Maria Van Rensselaer (1760–1841), the daughter of Col. Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1717–1781), the granddaughter of Hendrick van Rensselaer and the sister of Henry Van Rensselaer (1744–1816), Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1747–1798), and Killian K. Van Rensselaer (1763–1845).

Career

American Revolution

As the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

grew closer, Peter Gansevoort joined the Albany County militia. While he lacked the experience of many older officers, he was a tactful and persuasive leader. Even at his young age, he was over six feet tall, and had a commanding presence. This, along with his family connections, caused Gen.

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was an American general in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and a United States Senate, United States Senator from New York (state), New York. He is usually known as ...

to give him a commission.

Invasion of Quebec

At the start of the

, Gansevoort joined the Continental Army. He was commissioned as a Major on June 30, 1775, and served as a field commander in the 2nd New York Regiment. Goose Van Schaick was the regiment's Colonel; he had raised it, and served as its nominal commander. Lieutenant Colonel Peter W. Yates had been the regiment's primary field commander, but remained as commander of Fort George when Major Gansevoort led much of the regiment north with

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

's forces for the invasion of Quebec (1775). Gansevoort led the regiment during the siege of Fort St. Jean, today known by its French name of Fort Saint-Jean. In late October, to improve the effect of the siege, Montgomery sent Gansevoort and his men down the river to seize

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortifica ...

. At Chambly, they captured over 120 barrels of needed gunpowder and a huge mortar which they nicknamed ''the Old Sow''. They also took about 100 prisoners of the Welch Fusilier garrison and their young Captain,

John André Major John André (May 2, 1750 – October 2, 1780) was a British Army officer who served as the head of Britain's intelligence operations during the American War for Independence. In September 1780, he negotiated with Continental Army offic ...

. Montgomery used the Old Sow to open fire on St. Johns, which was compelled to surrender on November 2, 1775. Gansevoort took part in the capture of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, although he became ill during that attack. He started on the advance to

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, but by the time the force reached

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, he was being carried on a stretcher. He returned to Montreal and spent the winter as one of the sick with the occupation force. By the spring of 1776, the invasion had fallen apart at Quebec. Montgomery had been killed, and

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

had been wounded. Gansevoort had recovered to the point where he led the remaining New York forces south in a fighting withdrawal that stopped the British advance at

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

. As recognition for his accomplishment, in June 1776, he was assigned to command Fort George. Gansevoort-Peter-Rome-NY-e2

Siege of Fort Stanwix

In November, Gansevoort was promoted to Colonel and given command of the 3rd New York Regiment. which he recruited and trained in early 1777. Lt. Colonel Marinus Willett became his second in command. His area of responsibility was extended from the Hudson River valley and Fort Edward and Fort George, along the Mohawk River Valley to

Fort Oswego Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became the site of a battle between French and British Army forces in 1756 during the North American phase of the Seven Years' War, known in the United ...

in the northwest. This was to be the axis of Colonel Barry St. Leger's attack during the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of a British army, which historian Edmund M ...

. The 3rd New York did not have the men and equipment to extend that far, even with the support of local militia units. He conceded Fort Oswego to the British, and elected to defend

Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was bui ...

(near modern

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lie ...

). The fort had been abandoned after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

and was in ruins. He and Willett restored the fort and strengthened its defenses. They hurriedly set up a garrison, getting the last boatload of supplies into the fort under fire from St. Leger's advance force on August 2. He and his more than 700-strong garrison withstood the three-week-long siege, making a

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

on August 6, while much of St. Leger's force was occupied in the

Battle of Oriskany The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a major engagement of the Saratoga campaign during the American Revolutionary War. On August 6, 1777, an American column of Tryon County militia and Oneida people, Oneidas marching to relieve the siege of Fort ...

. The siege was lifted on August 22, after word arrived that

was leading a large relief force up the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

. He received the grateful thanks of the Congress, as

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

noted that "Gansevoort has proven that it is possible to hold a fort."

1778–1781

Gansevoort eventually turned Fort Stanwix over to a garrison of the

1st New York Regiment The 1st New York Regiment was authorized on 25 May 1775 and organized at New York City from 28 June to 4 August, for service with the Continental Army under the command of Colonel Alexander McDougall. The enlistments of the first establishment ...

. He moved his headquarters to his new command at Fort Saratoga (near modern

Schuylerville, New York Schuylerville () is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The village is located in the northeastern part of the Town of Saratoga, east of Saratoga Springs. It is part of the Capital Region of New York. The Village of Vict ...

). He led his regiment in the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign) was a United States military campaign under the command of General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan duri ...

of 1779. He had another bout of illness that winter (1779–1780) and returned home for a while, but, by July 1780, he was back with the 3rd at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. He was assigned to command the New York Brigade, and reestablished his headquarters at Fort Saratoga. In the reorganization and downsizing of the New York Line in 1781, Gansevoort was left with no assignment in the Continental Army. He returned home and became Brigadier General of the Albany County Militia. In 1783 he became an Original Member of the New York

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

Post-Revolution

After the war, Gansevoort continued to make his home in Albany where he operated the family brewery. He expanded his farms, adding grist mills and a lumber mill, in the area that eventually became Gansevoort, New York. In 1790, he served for a while as sheriff of Albany County, as a commissioner of Indian affairs, and continued his support of the military in the militia and as a quartermaster. In

1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...

, he ran for US Senator from New York but was defeated by

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the ...

of the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

. In 1809, he was made a Brigadier General in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and commanded the Army's Northern Department. In 1811, he was called on to preside over the court-martial of General

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American army officer and politician who was associated with multiple scandals and controversies during his life, including the Burr conspiracy. He served in the Continental Army du ...

. Wilkinson was found not guilty, and the court adjourned on Christmas Day. Hurrying back to his family, he suffered a recurrence of his old illness, and he never recovered, dying the next Summer.

Personal life

On January 12, 1778, he had married Catherine "Katy" Van Schaick (1752–1830) in her family's home on Van Schaick Island,

Cohoes, New York Cohoes ( ) is an incorporated city located in the northeast corner of Albany County in the U.S. state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile manufacturing to its growth in the 19th century. The city's ...

. She was the daughter of Wessel and Maria Van Schaik, and her cousin Goose Van Schaick had been Peter's commander and Colonel in 1775. Over the years, they had five children, five of whom lived past infancy, including: * Herman Gansevoort (1779–1862), who married Catherine S. Quackenbush (1774–1855) in 1813. * Wessel Gansevoort (1781–1862), who never married. * Leonard Herman Gansevoort (1783–1821), who married Mary Ann Chandonette (1789–1851) * Peter Gansevoort (1788–1876), who married Mary Sanford (1814–1841), a daughter of Chancellor Nathan Sandford. After her death, he married Susan Lansing (1804–1874), great-niece of John Lansing Jr., in 1843. * Maria Gansevoort (1791–1872), who married Allan Melvill (1782–1832), son of

Thomas Melvill Thomas Melvill(e) (1726 – December 1753) was a Scottish natural philosopher, who was active in the fields of spectroscopy and astronomy. Biography The son of Helen Whytt and the Rev Andrew Melville, minister of Monimail (d. 29 July 17 ...

, in 1814. He died at home in Albany on July 2, 1812. he is buried at

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Menands, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical ...

Descendants

His grandson through his son Leonard was

Guert Gansevoort Commodore Guert Gansevoort (7 June 1812 – 15 July 1868) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Biography He was born into an aristocratic Dutch Americans, Dutch American family in ...

, who had a distinguished naval career that spanned 45 years. Through his daughter Maria, he was the maternal grandfather of author

(1819–1891). His eldest son, Herman, built the Gansevoort Mansion in 1813 on his father's tract at Gansevoort in

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, ...

. The house was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gansevoort, Peter 1749 births 1812 deaths American people of Dutch descent Continental Army officers from New York (state) Peter 1749 Military personnel from Albany, New York Militia generals in the American Revolution New York (state) militiamen in the American Revolution Candidates in the 1800 United States elections