Arent de Peyster | |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Arent Schuyler de Peyster 27 June 1736 New York City, New York |
Died | 26 November 1822 Dumfries, Scotland |
Spouse(s) | Rebecca Blair (m. 1757; his death 1822) |
Relations |
Abraham de Peyster (grandfather) Arent Schuyler (grandfather) Peter Schuyler (uncle) |
Parents | Pierre Guillaume DePeyster Cornelia Schuyler |
Military service | |
Allegiance | British America |
Service/branch | 50th Foot, 51st Foot, 8th Foot |
Years of service | 1755–1794 |
Rank | Colonel |
Battles/wars |
Seven Years' War American Revolution |
Arent Schuyler DePeyster (27 June 1736 – 26 November 1822) was a British military officer best known for his term as commandant of the British controlled Fort Michilimackinac and Fort Detroit during the American Revolution. Following the capture of Lieutenant-Governor General Henry Hamilton, DePeyster is often credited as being the military leader of British and Indian forces in the Western American and Canadian frontiers.
De Peyster was a native of New York City, the son of Pierre Guillaume DePeyster (1707–1785) and Cornelia Schuyler (1715–1785). His maternal grandparents were Arent Schuyler (1662–1730) and Swantje Van Duyckhuysen (1679–1724), and his paternal grandparents were Catharina de Peyster and Abraham de Peyster (1657–1728), the 20th Mayor of New York City. His godparents were his uncles, Philip van Cortlandt (1683–1746) and Peter Schuyler (1707–1762) and his godmother was his aunt, Eva Schuyler Bayard (d. 1737).
His nephew's son, Frederic de Peyster (1796–1882), was a noted New York City lawyer. He was educated in London and obtained a commission as ensign in time for the Seven Years' War.
De Peyster joined the British Army in 1755, joining the 50th Foot Regiment, had been raised in America in 1748, by William Shirley, the Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In 1745, Shirley, along with de Peyster's uncle, Col. Peter Schuyler, had directed the Siege of Louisbourg. Next, he held a commission in the 51st Foot, a regiment formed by Lieutenant General Robert Napier in America, which at one point, had three Schuylers in it.