Van Schaick Mansion

Van Schaick Mansion. Revolutionary War Heritage Trail. The plans for the Battle of Saratoga were drawn up in this house in the summer of 1777, when the American Army was headquartered here. That April General Philip Schuyler and 5,000 troops retreated from Fort Edward in advance of Burgoyne’s superior forces. They camped in the fields surrounding the Van Schaick Mansion, with additional encampments built on Peebles Island to the north., From August 22-25, the house served as the New York State Capitol while Governor George Clinton and the American generals drew up a plan of action. In a controversial move, they replaced General Philip Schuyler, an old friend of the Van Schaicks, with General Gates as commander of the Northern Department of the Continental Army., In mid-August, Benedict Arnold led 800 volunteers to relieve the besieged troops at Fort Stanwix on the western frontier. They returned in time to advance to Saratoga where the Americans forced the British to surrender. British General Burgoyne stopped here as a prisoner of war afterwards.