Arent Schuyler DePeyster was born in New York City on June 27, 1736, to British Loyalists Pierre Guillaume DePeyster and Cornelia Schuyler. Arent was their second son.

Interestingly, DePeyster was also second cousin to Aexander Hamilton.

Young Arent was sent to London for formal education. When he returned to America in 1755, he received an officer’s commission in the British Army. DePeyster served for 39 years (from 1755 to 1794).

DePeyster was first assigned to the 50th Regiment of Foot, raised by Massachusetts Governor William Shirley.

He soon transferred to the 51st Regiment of Foot, where he served under his uncle, Col. Schuyler, in the French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War in Europe). The war expanded into a global conflict, fought between Great Britain and Prussia on one side, and an alliance of France, Spain, Saxony and Russia on the other.

After earning his way up to colonel, DePeyster served at Forts Detroit and Michilimackinac. He was the British commander at Michilimackinac during the American Revolution.

DePeyster was a strict disciplinarian. As a result, he was not popular with his men.

Winters at the fort were bitter cold and the snow deep. It took 17-and-a half-cords of wood to keep one room warm through winter. The fort had been occupied for 60 years, so nearby trees had been cut for firewood long ago.

When the soldiers were sent out to cut wood, they often had to haul it 30 miles. The soldiers despised cutting, splitting and hauling the vast amount of wood needed.

Unlike tourists today, they did not find Mackinaw City a “dreamy vacationland.”

But they followed orders.

When the season came for trading, the Natives camped on the beach outside the fort.

Some brought their wives, children and dogs.

The mutual respect DePeyster developed with the Indians saved his life one day. He and a sergeant walked out onto ice to check on a fisherman’s haul.

A sudden storm arose. The ice split and open water appeared.

A fort sentry saw what was happening. A warning shot was fired from a cannon.

On shore, four Native American Chiefs ran to their canoe and paddled quickly until they rescued the stranded men.

For thousands of years, Mackinac Island and the Straits of Mackinac were important to Native Americans who hunted game, fished abundant waters, and grew corn on the temperate shores of the Great Lakes.

As Europeans made their way to the interior of North America, many of them travelled to the Upper Great Lakes to trade trinkets and blankets with the Indians for beaver pelts.

The promise of adventure attracted many colorful characters.

One of the most interesting was the infamous British Army Lt. Col. Robert Rogers (1731-1791).

DePeyster previously knew Rogers, as he served on a court martial panel in Montreal that judged Rogers innocent of treason for allegedly plotting with the Spanish.

Starting at the age of 15 in 1746, Rogers excelled as a scout for the British in the New Hampshire militia.

Ten years later, Rogers recruited soldiers for the British Crown to defend against Native American attacks along the frontier. Many young, angry Brits volunteered for the fight.

Rogers created and commanded “Rogers’ Rangers” who served the Crown in the New York wilderness. Under his guidance, the Rangers trained in unconventional war tactics and strategies, including winter raids using sleds, snowshoes and ice skates to surprise foes.

Rogers wrote a strategy guide, “Robert Rogers’ 28 Rules of Ranging.” The Canadian Queen’s York Rangers and the U.S. Army Rangers still trace their war tactics back to his book.

In 1765 Rogers returned to England to publish a few moderately successful books. The books caught the attention of King George III, to whom Rogers proposed an expedition to discover a Northwest Passage to the Pacific.

In furtherance of that goal, the King named Rogers “Royal Governor” of Michilimackinac and charged him with finding a passage. He never found it, but in 1793 Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1764-1820), a Scottish explorer and fur trader, did.

After he retired, DePeyster died at home Nov. 26, 1822, in Dumfries, Scotland. He will be forever remembered in Mackinaw City and Cheboygan County for the important part he played in our early history.

After the British abandoned the fort in the early 1800s, the numerous Indian communities on the western shore of Emmet County continued to thrive.

After the War of 1812, Mackinac Island and the Straits became part of the United States.