Nickname(s) Cort Years of service 1922—1959 | Rank General Name Cortlandt Schuyler | |
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Born December 22, 1900
Mount Arlington, New Jersey ( 1900-12-22 ) Buried at West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York Awards Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit
French Legion of Honor (Commander) Other work Commissioner, New York State Office of General Services Died December 4, 1993, San Antonio, Texas, United States Place of burial West Point Cemetery, Highlands, New York, United States Education United States Military Academy, Columbia High School | ||
Service/branch United States Army Commands held 28th Infantry Division Allegiance United States of America | ||
Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Schuyler (December 22, 1900 – December 4, 1993) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (COFS SHAPE) from 1953 to 1959.
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Early life
Schuyler was born in Mount Arlington, New Jersey on December 22, 1900, and was a descendant of the prominent Schuyler, Van Rensselaer and Van Cortlandt families of upstate New York. He attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1922 and was commissioned in the Coast Artillery Corps.
Military career
His first assignment was at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was assigned to the 61st Antiaircraft Battalion, at the time the only anti-aircraft unit in the army. Later he served with the 60th Coast Artillery (antiaircraft) in the Philippines and the 4th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) at Fort Amador in the Panama Canal Zone. He graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1937.
In 1939, while a member of the Antiaircraft section of the Coast Artillery Board, he participated actively in the development of the first multiple, power-operated antiaircraft machine gun mount.(Quadmount), He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his work in this field.
In 1942, Schuyler was assigned to the Antiaircraft Command in Richmond, Virginia in 1942. He was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as chief of staff of the Antiaircraft Command. The Antiaircraft Command had the task of organizing and training all antiaircraft units of a rapidly expanding Army and controlled eight large training centers from Massachusetts to California.
In the fall of 1944, General Schuyler was assigned to Bucharest, Romania, as the U.S. Military Representative to the Allied Control Commission. The agency was created by the three interested allied governments (British, U.S. and Russian) to administer the terms of the Romanian armistice.
In 1947, General Schuyler returned to Washington and was assigned as the Chief of the Plans and Policy Group, Army General Staff. It was in this position that he became heavily involved in the fast developing concept of the North Atlantic alliance. He assisted in the preparation of policy papers and participated in the discussions which, in 1949, culminated in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). When General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed as the Supreme Commander of all NATO forces in Europe, General Schuyler was part of Eisenhower's staff as the special assistant to the chief of staff.
In 1952, Schuyler was promoted to major general and given command of the 28th Infantry Division in 1953.
In 1954, he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned to SHAPE headquarters in Paris as the Chief of Staff to Supreme Allied Commander General Alfred M. Gruenther. Schuyler was promoted to general in 1956 and remained as the chief of staff for the new Supreme Commander, General Lauris Norstad, until his retirement from the Army in November 1959.
Post military career
After retiring from the army in 1959, Schuyler served as Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services from 1960 to 1971.
Personal life
Schuyler was married twice, first to Wynona Coykendall (1902-1981). Together, they had a daughter and a son:
He later married Helen Van Rensselaer Stillman (1905-1994), who was previously married to Major General George Honnen.
Schuyler died on December 4, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas. He was survived by his wife, two children, and two stepchildren. He was buried at West Point Cemetery, Section 8, Row C, Site 172.