Three Rivers
Hudson~Mohawk~Schoharie
History From America's Most Famous Valleys

Thanks to Jim Morrison, contributor of the pension papers. Jim has spent many long years researching the militia.

Nicholas Schuyler

File Notes

1) Petition of Nicholas Schuyler mil. pen. claiming a pension for services in the Revolution

2) Nicholas Schuyler Dec 15, 1829 Rev. to Comm Mil. Pensions.

April 24, 1830, Report as to lie

3) Military Pension on Nicholas Schuyler April 24, 1830 Reced to lie. Recorded page 172. (Illegible)

The Committee on Military Pensions has had the Case of Nicholas Schuyler under Consideration it appears that the Petitioner Served Some time in the Militia Service in the Revolutionary War. The Committee in such case has never allowed a Pension and do therefore reject the Petition.

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Copy from the National Archives
Record of the U. S.
House of
Representatives
Record Group 233
Congress 21st Committee on Military Pensions
File Number HR 21AD16.1
Transcribed E. R. Hessler 2/87

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To the Congress of the United States

The Petition of Nicholas Schuyler of the Town of Danube in the County of Herkimer and State of New York Respectfully Sheweth

That your Petitioner has during the Revolutionary War rendered important service in defence of his country and that although not enlisted into the regular service of the country yet in the New York State Militia and by other Service has contributed, as he hopes, very essentially to the achievement of that Independence which is at this time the pride and the glory as well as the peculiar blessing of the American People.

That your Petitioner on one particular occasion during said war by a voluntary pledge of his life for the performance of a high and dangerous trust has as your Petitioner flatters himself under divine providence been the happy means to save from certain and otherwise inevitable massacre about six hundred of the Patriots of the Revolution.

The instance to which your Petitionery refers is the investment of Fort Schuyler (commonly called Fort Stanwix) by a numerous party of Indians and Tories commanded by Col. St. Leger in the year 1777 and where, but for the timely service of your Petitioner Col. Gansevoort and Willett with the garrison consisting of about six hundred men being already reduced to the utmost extremity would inevitably have fallen victims to savage barbarity.

The manner in which their deliverance was effected is the following--

Honyost Schuyler the Brother of your Petitioner had shortly after the commencement of the Revolution enlisted into the regular service of the United States, from which after a short term of service he deserted and went to Canada where he enlisted into the British Service, and came with the army of Col. St. Leger to the siege of Fort Schuyler--from Fort Schuyler the said Honyost accompanied by a number of the enemy and among them Walter Butler (or young Butler as he was generally called) who was distinguished for the many and frequent depravations and murders which he caused to be committed upon our border settlements upon the Mohawk, came to Herkimer under the pretense of having been sent as a flag of truce from Col. St. Leger, whereby the order of General Benedict Arnold who with several regiments of continental troops was at that time stationed at Fort Dayton (now Herkimer) they were all seized as spies and tried by a Court Martial and the said Han Yost having been found guilty of desertion was sentenced to be shot--That when the sentence was made known to your Petitionery your Petitioner and his then aged Mother immediately repaired to the quarters of General Arnold to intercede with the general in behalf of the said Honyost and to implore a pardon for him--That is to the petitions a& entreaties of your Petitioner and his Mother General Arnold for a long time remained inflexible, until finally, being aware of the critical situation of our garrison at Fort Schuyler & the extreme danger of its falling into the hands of an infuriated and savage enemy and that the said Honyost Schuyler from his known confidence among that enemy might be serviceably employed in the relief of that garrison, the General made to your Petitioner the following proposition--

That a pardon should be granted to the said Honyost on the condition that the said Honyost would immediately and with the utmost expedition proceed to Fort Schuyler and there by a misrepresentation of the strength and movement of General Arnold's army induce the enemy to abandon the siege of that fort and would then return to General Arnold and surrender himself up; and on the further condition that your Petitioner would in the meantime submit himself to imprisonment in the room of his brother the said Honyost; and would also agree to a forfeiture of his your Petitioners life, and would consent to be executed in the stead of the said Honyost in case the said Honyost should not again return--

That your Petitioner after a consultation with his Brother the said Honyost upon the subject of the proposal acceded to the proposition so as aforesaid made to him your Petitioner by General Arnold--That your Petitioner was actually imprisoned at Fort Dayton in the room of the said Honyost during the absence of the said Honyost to Fort Schuyler and had positively pledged the forfeiture of his life and did expect to be and does now believe that the your Petitioner would have been executed in the event that the said Honyost had failed in the performance of his trust--That the said Honyost upon the imprisonment of your Petitioner in his stead was set at liberty and did immediately proceed to Fort Schuyler and there by exaggerating the force of General Arnold and representing him and his army as rapidly advancing towards the enemy, produced such panic and consternations among our savages, the enemy as caused them, against the protestations and effort of Col. St. Leger, to hasten their departure from the Fort with the utmost precipitation and so completely panic struck were the enemy that by the report brought to them by the said Honyost that they fled to their boats and pushed off leaving behind them their tents, and baggage and other camp equipage which fell into hands of our garrison--Col. Gansevoort and his veterans were thereby relieved and immediately after abandoned the Fort and thus happily escaped that butchery which otherwise was to have been their inevitable destiny--The said Honyost after proceeding with the enemy down wood creek for some distance effected his escape and returned to our garrison in the Fort and shortly thereafter came to Herkimer to General Arnold by whose order he received his pardon and your Petitioner his release from imprisonment--

That subsequently during the same war your Petitioner with several of his neighbors were surprised by a party of Indians about ten miles below Fort Dayton on the Mohawk, made prisoners and carried by them to Niagara where your Petitioner after some months close confinement was retained a prisoner until the close of the war being altogether about three years--that in addition to all the horrors and suffering of Indian captivity, your Petitioner suffered materially in his private concerns at home--

That your Petitioner is now in the seventy-ninth year of his age and in addition to the infirmities common to old age has to encounter all the difficulties and distress of extreme poverty--that your Petitioner has a Wife also considerably advanced in years for whom he has to provide and that your Petitioner being entirely destitute of property has no other means of support than the labor of his hands--that age and infirmity have rendered your Petitioner unable to perform much manual labor and from his inability to perform such labor your Petitioner and his family are frequently deprived the common necessaries and comfort of life--

You Petitioner would therefore pray your honorable body to provide out of the funds of the general government, in considerations of the suffering and service of your Petitioner his present destitute condition a pension or yearly allowance in money such as may be adequate to the want and condition of your aged Petitioner, as will procure for him and his family during the few remaining days of his life the necessary comforts of old age; and as under all the circumstances shall by your honorable body be deemed reasonable and right--

And as in duty bound your Petitioner will ever pray--

Oct. 17, 1827. /Signed/ Nicholas Schuyler

We the undersigned Inhabitants of the County of Herkimer in the State of New York do hereby certify to all to whom these presents shall come or may in any wise concern that we were acquainted with Honyost Schuyler and Nicholas Schuyler of whom mention is made in the foregoing Petition during the Revolutionary War (the said Honyost having long since died and the said Nicholas being still alive and with whom we are still well acquainted). That the facts stated by the said Nicholas in the before going Petition relative to his the said Nicholas voluntarily pledging his life for the faithful performance of the service by the said Hanyost as is in said Petition set forth in relieving the garrison at Fort Schuyler in the year 1777, are from our own knowledge and perfect recollection of the transaction, substantially correct and true--We were eye witnesses to the imprisonment of the said Nicholas in the stead of his Brother Honyost who was under sentence of death and which sentence was at the time expected to be enforced against the said Nicholas if the said Honyost ahd failed to return as is in said Petition also stated return and we do also believe that it was owing to the alarm spread among Col. S. Leger's army at Fort Schuyler by the said Honyost Schuyler that the American garrison then in imminent danger of falling into the hands of the enemy was relieved and saved--

/signatures/

Hannes Dachsteter

Christopher Bellinger

Samuel Haddock

Peter Starling (?0

J. Fan Valkinburgh

(illeg.) Gross (?)

John Frank

Frederick Frank

Adam Hardman

Frederik Bellinger