Philip Skene

Philip Wharton Skene (5 February 1725 in London, England – 10 June 1810 near Stoke Goldington, Buckinghamshire) was a Scottish officer in the British army, New York state "patroon", and a figure in the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolution.

Skene was from the branch of the family associated with Hallyards Castle. He enlisted in the British army in 1739 and saw much action: the Battle of Porto Bello (1739), the Battle of Cartagena de Indias (1741), the Battle of Fontenoy (1745), and the Battle of Culloden (1746). In 1756 he arrived in the British colonies in North America. In February 1757 he was promoted to the command of a company in the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot. He was wounded in Lord Howe's 1758 attack on Fort Ticonderoga. In 1759 he was appointed major of a brigade and in October of that year was left in command of Crown Point with instructions to strengthen the fortifications. While he was stationed there he became convinced that the local area was a good one for trade and settlement. With the encouragement of Lord Amherst he started a small settlement at the head of Lake Champlain, purchasing land in the area.

In 1762 Skene was sent to the Caribbean and took part in the capture of Havana, being the first through the breach into Morro Castle. In 1763 he returned to North America and found his settlement reduced to 15 inhabitants. He travelled to England and in 1765 obtained a royal patent for a large tract of land known as Skenesborough (now the village of Whitehall). Returning to New York, he again began to develop a tenant settlement on his property. When his regiment returned to Ireland in 1768, Skene transferred to the Xth Foot, and then sold his commission in 1769. In 1770 he became a resident of his new community. Over the next 5 years he made many improvements to his property, such as a road to Salem, New York and on to Bennington known as "Skene's Road". He built mills, storehouses, and boats, including the schooner Katherine that later became the USS Liberty when seized by the patriots.

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