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| Colonel '''Kiliaen van Rensselaer''' (December 27, 1717 – December 28, 1781) was the youngest of eleven children of ] and Catharina<ref>New York State Museum - Stefan Bielinski</ref> daughter of merchant ]. He was commissioned as a colonel of the 4th Regiment, Albany County Militia,<ref>New York In The Revolution as Colony and State by James A. Roberts, Comptroller. Compiled by Frederic G. Mather Second Edition 1898</ref> ] battalion on October 20, 1775 during the ]. He was the representative for Rensselaerswyck on the Albany ], Safety, and Protection as hostilities broke out in 1775.<ref> New York State Museum - Stefan Bielinski</ref> He was born and died in ]. | |||
| ==Military career== | |||
| Author ] wrote of the van Rensselaers in ''Colonial New York'' - "...eighteen males, sixteen belonged to ]'s branch, and of these, five were of Kiliaen van Rensselaer's family. Some of Kiliaen's nephews are Brigadier General ], his brother ] founded ]." | |||
| Killian van Rensselaer named his eldest son after his own ] according to Dutch tradition. This younger; Colonel ], acting on orders from General ] giving him at least two objectives: | |||
| :*Hold the enemy at ] in order to facilitate the removal of cannon and armaments at ], to a place of safety; and | |||
| :*Assist Colonel ] with his retreat from the 1777 ]. | |||
| After a series of retreats and advances by both the Patriots and the British, culminated into a ''no holds barred'' bombardment when Colonel William Hill and his British troops pursued the ''Rebels of the Crown'' from ] up ] to a point North East of ]. | |||
| Long and his men from ], during their retreat had met with van Rensselaer's troops They, assessed a numerical advantage over the British not only were they able to hold back the British after launching a decisive assault, spanning 2 hours of the late morning of July 8, 1777. | |||
| Nearly all munitions from both Patriots and British alike, exhausted on their opposing forces. The British were so overwhelmed, when the battle ended, the British were left little choice - but to retreat and abandon several of their wounded on the field to be taken prisoner, not knowing supplies were also running low for the ]. | |||
| Their stay was only short. They were looking forward to a 14 mile - seven-hour journey, munitions were nearly depleted, rain was on its way and food was in short supply. As they left they were determined in preventing the British from making use Fort Anne, it was set ablaze. | |||
| ==Later life== | |||
| He was wounded during the ] against Burgoyne. General ] paid the highest of compliments about his courage.<ref>schenectadyhistory.org - Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: Van Rensselaer</ref> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| {{Persondata | |||
| | NAME = van Rensselaer, Kiliaen | |||
| | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | |||
| | SHORT DESCRIPTION =Colonel | |||
| | DATE OF BIRTH = December 27, 1717 | |||
| | PLACE OF BIRTH = Albany, NY | |||
| | DATE OF DEATH = December 28, 1781 | |||
| | PLACE OF DEATH = Albany, NY | |||
| }} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen}} | |||
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