Peebles Island

As Patriot General Philip Schuyler worked to defend Albany against Britain’s 1777 three-pronged invasion of New York, he chose Peebles Island as the spot to make his final stand. Here, the Mohawk River “sprouts” into a series of branches, and in the 1700s the water level was low and easily fordable. Peebles Island was part of a series of islands which could command the high ground over these fords, making it an excellent choice for cannon emplacements. General John Glover – the man who had evacuated Commander in Chief George Washington at Manhattan and later got him across the Delaware River – was put in charge of Peebles Island and its guns. The defenses of Peebles Island were never tested. General Horatio Gates replaced General Schuyler, and he marched the American army north of Peebles Island to fight the British at the Battles of Saratoga.