A native of Ithaca, New York, Schuyler graduated from West Point in 1870 and began his military career as a second lieutenant in the 5th Cavalry Regiment. He served in the western United States throughout the 1870s and 1880s, and took part in the Yavapai War and Great Sioux War of 1876. During the Spanish–American War and Philippine–American War, he was promoted to temporary colonel and commanded volunteer Infantry regiments.