Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/144

Rh but none lived more brightly in the memories of all those who knew her than the wife of General Philip Schuyler.

Catherine Schuyler died in 1803.

Such instances were exemplified after the Civil War in innumerable instances; conquered vied with the conquerors in magnanimity toward each other.

In the family Bible of young Philip Schuyler, when a captain under General Bradstreet, the Quartermaster of the English army, appears this entry: "Elizabeth, born August 9, 1757. Do according to Thy will with her." Thus entered into the world Elizabeth Schuyler, afterwards the wife of Alexander Hamilton.

When she was only two months old the frightful massacre of the German Flats occurred and the refugees fled to Albany. In the big barn on the Schuyler estate they found shelter and the little Schuyler babies, Elizabeth and Angelica, had to be set aside while their young mother, Catharine Schuyler, with the other women of the house, helped administer to the needs of the poor destitute people. At this time, too, the town of Albany was filled with rapacious army troops. A detachment of redcoats, under General Charles Lee, lay in the "Indian Field" adjoining the ground of the Schuyler mansion, and they did not hesitate to lay hands on whatever suited their purpose. Abercrombie, Lee, and kindly, courteous Lord Howe, were all visitors there during this period.

Later, when the defeat of Ticonderoga came, the Schuyler barn again opened its hospitable doors. This time it was converted into a hospital and the wounded British and provincial soldiers lay beneath the rafters, fed by the negro slaves and nursed by the women of the Schuyler homestead. So, in the