Philip Schuyler Statue To Be Removed From Albany City Hall

If you’ve been to City Hall in downtown Albany you’ve probably seen a statue of Major General Philip John Schuyler. If you haven’t seen it, you better go get your look now, because it will be removed from City Hall soon.

General Schuyler was born in 1773 and he died in 1801. He was born into a prosperous family in Albany, New York. General Schuyler was a general in the French and Indian wars. His statue is different from the other statues that are being removed because he did not fight in the Civil War. General Schuyler fought in the American revolution and he died long before the Civil War began.

The whole United States is looking into race relations. We are trying to make things better for our country. As we do this, cities all over the country are removing statues and symbols of controversy, mainly of people who fought in the Civil War.

General Schuyler came from a prominent family in Albany, and he had the largest number of enslaved people in Albany during that time, this is why his statue is so controversial. General Schuyler went on to become a member of the New York General Assembly in 1768 and the Continental Congress in 1775.

On Thursday afternoon Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan signed an executive order. The executive order directed the removal of the statue honoring Major General Philip Schuyler which stands outside of City Hall. The statue will be given to a local museum or local institution where it can be displayed with the proper historical content. Mayor Sheehan said, “scores of community members have reached out to my office requesting the removal of the statue of former slave owner General Philip Schuyler and I thank those residents for making their voices heard.”

We appreciate Mayor Sheehan’s gesture of removing the statue in front of City Hall, she’s done what she could do. But there are many other places and things that honor this general. For example, there is Schuyler County, Illinois; Schuyler County Missouri; and Schuyler County in New York.
In addition, there is a painting of General Schuyler that hangs in the US Capitol rotunda in Washington DC just to name a few. So removing a statue is a good start, but America has a lot of work to do to help heal the nation. It’s the first time in my lifetime that I’ve seen the government really start to listen to the people, so it’s a good thing.

All statutes and monuments of historical figures should come up for review every 50 years or so. I didn't even know who this guy was until recently when I found his slave-owning and influencing slavery to be legal in the United States through his son in law founding father Alexander Hamilton. I was disgusted, not to mention he didn't even bother properly burying his slaves or give them headstones. There are more than enough reasons why he shouldn't be honored with a statue that was paid for with slave labor. I personally won't miss the statue.