Cortlandt Van Rensselaer (Cort) Schuyler 1900-1993

Military Leader

General Cortlandt Van Rensselaer [Cort] Schuyler was a twentieth century general with a name which represented three of the leading families active during the New York state Dutch colonial era.

The other general with the Schuyler family name was the eighteenth century general Philip John Schuyler [1733-1804]. I do not know the exact familial relationship, but it is interesting that he also had connections with the same three leading families. His mother was a Cornelia Van Cortlandt and he was married to Catherine Van Rensselaer.

Cortlandt Schuyler’s service covered both the First and Second World Wars, and that probably helped him in attaining the rank of general. He graduated from West Point in 1922, eleventh out of 102 graduates. His first assignment was at Fort Monroe, Virginia, with the 61^st Antiaircraft Battalion. Do not let the number 61deceive you. His batallion was the first unit of its kind. Not a surprise because aircraft were introduced in warfare only a few years before.

Schuyler served for over 20 years as an antiaircraft officer in the U.S. and also in the Philippines and the Panama Canal Zone. In between he also taught mathematics at the West Point Academy for four years.

In 1939 Schuyler participated actively in the development of the first multiple, power-operated antiaircraft machine-gun control system. Later he received the Legion of Merit for his contributions in this field.

After the start of the Second World War, in 1942, Schuyler was assigned to the U. S. Antiaircraft Command in Richmond, Virginia. He was named Chief of Staff of that unit in 1943 and promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, a one-star general.

Near the end of the war, in the fall of 1944, Schuyler was assigned to Bucharest, Romania, as a U.S. military representative on the Allied [British, U.S. and Russian] Control Commission. The Commission was created to administer the terms of the Rumanian Armistice Agreement.

Schuyler returned to Washington in 1947 for an assignment as Chief of Plans and Policy Group, Army General Staff. In this position he became heavily involved in the development of the North Atlantic Alliance which eventually became NATO. General Eisenhower was nominated as the Supreme Commander of all NATO forces in Europe and Schuyler served as a special assistant to Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff.

In 1952, Schuyler was promoted to Major General and a year later was assigned to serve as the Commanding General of the 28^th Infantry Division, Goeppingen, Germany.

Only six months later he was promoted to Lieutenant General, and was assigned to SHAPE Headquarters in Paris, France to become the Chief of Staff for the newly assigned Supreme Commander, General Alfred M. Gruenter. Schuyler remained in that position until his retirement in 1959. During that time, in 1956 he was promoted to General, a four star general.

Following his retirement from the military he was appointed by Governor Rockefeller of New York to organize the Office of General Services. He retired from that position in 1971 to take care of his ailing wife who died shortly thereafter.

During his military career, Schuyler was recognized for his contributions with the following awards and decorations:

• Distinguished Service Medal
• Legion of Merit
• Victory Medal
• American Defense Service Medal
• American Campaign Medal
• European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
• World War II Victory Medal
• Army of Occupation Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Commander French Legion of Honor

Cortlandt Schuyler was born in Mount Arlington, New Jersey on December 22, 1900. He was married twice. His first wife was Wynona Coykendall with whom he had two children. She died in 1971 from cancer. He then married Helen Van Rensselaer Stilman. Schuyler passed away on December 4, 1993 and is survived by his wife Helen, two children, two stepchildren, eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

 

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