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Colonel Arent Schuyler DePeyster (27 June 1736 – 26 November 1822) was a British military officer best known for his term as commandant of Fort Michilimackinac and Fort Detroit during the American War of Independence. Following the capture of Lieutenant-Governor General Henry Hamilton in 1779, DePeyster became the de facto military leader of British and Indigenous forces in the Ohio Country and the upper Great Lakes region.
During the French and Indian War, he served under his uncle in the Province of New York, gaining experience in frontier warfare. He was captured, held as prisoner in France, and after being exchanged, served out the war with the 8th Regiment of Foot in Germany.
In 1768, the 8th Regiment was assigned to the Province of Quebec, and DePeyster enjoyed a series of promotions. In 1774, he was appointed commandant of Fort Michilimackinac, in present-day Mackinaw City, Michigan. DePeyster spent the next five years at the fort.
In 1779, Major DePeyster took over as commandant of Fort Detroit. DePeyster, by his tact and the adoption of conciliatory measures, effectively managed Britain's Indigenous allies against American militia from Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Although Great Britain ceded control of Detroit to the United States at the end of the war, Detroit remained in British control until 1796.
In November 1783, DePeyster was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of the 8th Foot and transferred to Fort Niagara, situated at the mouth of the Niagara River. He did not depart for Niagara until 30 May 1784, where he assumed command on 5 June 1784. In the summer of 1785, he returned to England with the regiment and continued to serve, eventually receiving a commission as colonel on 12 October 1793.
In 1795, when England was threatened by Napoleon, he became actively involved with the militia. He played a significant role in enlisting and drilling the 1st Regiment of Dumfries Volunteers. One of the original members of the Volunteers was Robert Burns, the prominent Scottish poet, who dedicated to DePeyster his "Poem on Life," and with DePeyster carried on a poetical controversy in the columns of the Dumfries Journal. DePeyster, also wrote poetry and published Miscellanies, by an Officer in 1813.
De Peyster died as the result of an accident on 26 November 1822 in Dumfries, Scotland. A large funeral was given in his honor, and he was buried in St Michael's Churchyard. His wife died on 20 February 1827.
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