Stephen Van Rensselaer III.

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Stephen Van Rensselaer (painted by Gilbert Stuart )

Stephen Van Rensselaer III. (Born November 1, 1764 in New York City , † January 26, 1839 ibid) was an American politician , general , landowner and philanthropist .

biography

Stephen Van Rensselaer was born in New York as the eldest child of Stephen Van Rensselaer II and Catharina Livingston . His family, descended from the first Dutch settlers in the city, was one of the richest in the region. Since his father died when he was five years old, he was raised by his uncle Abraham Ten Broeck , who had taken over the trusteeship of the paternal property. He graduated from Harvard University in 1782 and a year later married Margarita Schuyler , daughter of Philip Schuyler , a General of the Revolutionary War . After her death in 1801, he married Cornelia Paterson , the daughter of William Paterson , a lawyer and former governor of New Jersey, a year later . On his 21st birthday, Van Rensselaer took over his father's possessions, which covered nearly 12,000 square miles (31,000 square kilometers ). In order to improve his income, he leased the land on a long-term basis for moderate sums. The tenants therefore had more money available for investments, which increased their income and, with it, the Van Rensselaers. After a while he had about 3,000 tenants, to whom he proved to be moderate and benevolent. The entire Albany region benefited from the increased productivity .

Van Rensselaer was also involved in politics in his home state, allegedly more out of a sense of duty than out of personal ambitions. He was from 1789 to 1791 a member of the New York State Assembly , the House of Representatives of the State of New York , and from 1791 to 1796 member of the State Senate . In 1795 he was appointed lieutenant governor of the state. In his political offices, Van Rensselaer earned the reputation of a moderate reformer.

In 1786 he had received the rank of major in the militia and had since been promoted step by step until he reached the position of major general in 1801 . Despite his high rank, Van Rensselaer had no significant military knowledge and experience, which is why he was not qualified to lead troops in the field. The fact that he was given a field command in the war of 1812 against Great Britain was the result of an intrigue by the Republican politician Daniel D. Tompkins , who wanted to eliminate him as a competing candidate for the federalists in the election for governor of New York. If Van Rensselaer refused, he would have lost his reputation with the voters; if he accepted the position, he could not run. If he turned out to be a poor general (which was likely given his lack of knowledge), he would be discredited, and even if he succeeded, he would not have been released for election. With this move Tompkins secured himself the election of governor, but did his country a disservice, as in this way a commander without the necessary knowledge took over the command of the most important army in the theater of war on the Canadian border.

Van Rensselaer reluctantly accepted the post he was offered as commander of the "Army of the Middle" in Lewiston in the theater of war on the Niagara River , although he had refused the war against Great Britain. Aware of his lack of knowledge, he secured the services of his cousin, Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, as an adjutant . The new commander found a difficult situation in his army. The troops consisted largely of poorly trained and inexperienced militiamen, who were actually exempt from the obligation to do military service outside the United States by the constitution . In theory, Van Rensselaer was subordinate to a contingent of regular soldiers under Brigadier General Alexander Smyth , who, out of dislike of Van Rensselaer, refused to carry out his orders. Van Rensselaer himself wanted to delay an attack as much as possible, but was put under massive pressure by President James Monroe , who needed a win over the British to improve the mood in the country. As the British began to fortify the strategically important heights of Queenston and the morale of the US troops suffered from hunger, disease and the demonstrative demonstration of American prisoners of war by the British, Van Rensselaer's officers also pressed for a swift attack.

On October 13, 1812, Van Rensselaer ordered his army of about 7,000 men to attack the British positions on the other side of the Niagara River. Although the initially far superior Americans managed to form a bridgehead and take a key British position, the battle of Queenston Heights ended in a loss-making debacle, as it was the British led by Major General Sir Isaac Brock and, after his death, Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe succeeded in breaking the bridgehead and forcing the US troops there to surrender. The defeat ended Van Rensselaers military career, who immediately resigned from his command.

Van Rensselaer was undoubtedly partly responsible for the extent of the defeat, as the secrecy had not worked and he had not made sure that enough boats or ammunition were available. He couldn't get the militiamen to cross the river, he couldn't even get the boat crews to rescue the troops cut off on the other side of the river. However, he was overwhelmed with this command right from the start, which is why the responsibility lies primarily with those who forced him to take it on. In addition, Van Rensselaer was hardly to blame for the generally poor condition of the US Army , which resulted in poorly qualified officers, inadequate training, equipment, armament and supplies, the use of unsuitable militia troops and political intrigues that were not only military in this case Operations disabled. It is characteristic that Brigadier General Smyth, who had contributed to the extent of the defeat through his refusal to give orders (he was supposed to carry out a discharge attack but ignored the instruction), succeeded Van Rensselaer instead of being tried before a court martial .

Although his name was linked to one of the US Army's most shameful military defeats , Van Rensselaer enjoyed enough popularity to continue to be politically active. In 1821 he was elected to the Constitutional Convention (Constituent Assembly) of New York State, two years later as Solomon Van Rensselaer's successor in the House of Representatives , to which he was a member until 1829. In 1829 he withdrew from public life and began to use his fortune to become increasingly involved in the welfare and education sectors. He was regent of the State University of New York from 1819 to 1839 and in 1824, together with Amos Eaton, founded the Rensselaer School, now the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), a prestigious technological educational institution.

Stephen Van Rensselaer III. died in New York on January 26, 1839. He was the father of Henry Bell Van Rensselaer , a politician and civil war general .

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Van Rensselaer III., Stephen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, general, and philanthropist
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1764
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1839
Place of death New York City