Two hundred and fifty years ago, the men and women of New York stood at the center of the struggle that created the United States – the first civil war – the American Revolution.

As Albany joins communities across the nation in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, one glaring omission remains: the absence of General Philip Schuyler’s statue from the city that served as his home, his headquarters, and the center of his life’s work. It stood in front of City Hall since June 1925, when it was gifted to the City from philanthropist George C. Hawley, who donated it in memory of his wife. The sculptor was the noted Scottish-American artist J. Massey Rhind.

It was removed surreptitiously by the last mayor, and it’s time to bring General Philip Schuyler back. This is not a call to erase history’s complexities. Quite the opposite. It’s a call to tell history honestly, completely, and courageously.

Few New Yorkers contributed more to the cause of American independence than Philip Schuyler. Appointed a major general by the Continental Congress in 1775, Schuyler assumed command of the Northern Department at one of the most dangerous moments in the Revolution. While others received glory on the battlefield, Schuyler undertook the difficult and often thankless work that wins wars by building armies, establishing supply lines, constructing fortifications, organizing transportation, securing provisions, and coordinating communications across New York’s vast frontier. Military historians have long recognized that logistics often determine victory more than dramatic battlefield heroics. In that respect, Schuyler was indispensable.

The triumph at Saratoga in 1777, widely regarded as the turning point of the Revolution because it convinced France to ally itself with the United States, did........

© The Saratogian