Friends of Fort Crailo
Crailo and the American Revolution
The Revolution Generation
Every able-bodied Van Rensselaer man who is known to have been alive during the Revolutionary War period served the Patriot cause in some way or another.
Just in the Crailo branch of the family (beginning with Crailo's builder, Hendrick Van Rensselaer) there were nine Van Rensselaers who served as officers during the war. Those who did not serve on the front lines supported the war effort in other ways. Note Philip Van Rensselaer, who helped supply the army, and Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, who helped bring the Sons of Liberty to Albany.
Robert Van Rensselaer: Crailo's General
Robert Van Rensselaer was born in 1742, and was the second son of Johannes, then the owner. He was 17 when Dr. Shuckburgh allegedly penned the words to "Yankee Doodle" on Crailo's grounds, and claims to have seen it happen.
When the War of Independence broke out in 1775, Robert was named Colonel of the 8th Albany County Militia. By the Summer 1780 he had been promoted to Brigadier General and placed in charge of all of the Albany militias. As Brigadier General, Robert led the militias in battle just once, during the Battle of Klock's Field. During the battle, Gen. Van Rensselaer defeated a raiding party under the command of prominent loyalist Sir John Johnson. He was placed under considerable scrutiny after the battle, however, since Johnson's force managed to escape capture in the aftermath of the battle.
Although Robert Van Rensselaer was the general in command during both battles, he was only present for the Battle of Klock's Field. The Battle of Stone Arabia broke out largely by accident, when a scout column led by Col. John Brown collided with the main body of Sir John Johnson's enemy force.
Breadbasket of the Northern Army
In the 18th century, the area around Crailo, extending across modern Rensselaer County and portions of Columbia County, was almost entirely farmland, and the farmers working in the area were tenants of Johannes Van Rensselaer, who ran the "lower manor" of Rensselaerwyck.
The lower manor, and Claverack in particular, were largely used for growing grain. This made the region especially important to people like General Philip Schuyler, who relied on the local crops to feed his army.
Claverack grain was so important to General Schuyler that he tasked one of Johannes' sons with overseeing shipments of grain from the region, and requested that tenants remain at their farms, rather than join the army.
