William McKay Lt . - Colonel William McKay ( 1772 – 18 August 1832 ) is remembered for leading the Canadian Forces to victory at the Siege of Prairie du Chien during the War of 1812 . After the war , he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs at Drummond Island in what was then Upper Canada . Previous to the war , McKay was a noted fur trader who had travelled widely in Canada . He was a partner of the North West Company and a member of the Beaver Club at Montreal . He was a brother of Alexander McKay , who accompanied Sir Alexander Mackenzie to the Pacific Ocean in 1793 . Loyalist background . Born at Mohawk River Valley , he was the son of Donald McKay , a former soldier with the 78th Fraser Highlanders , and his wife Elspeth Kennedy . His father , a native of Golspie , Sutherland , fought at the Battle of Quebec . At the end of the Seven Years ' War , his father was discharged from the British Army and settled at Mohawk River . During the American War of Independence , Donald McKay served with the King ' s Royal Regiment of New York and was afterwards one of the original United Empire Loyalist s who settled at Glengarry County , Upper Canada . Fur Trade . In about 1790 , William joined the North West Company , at about the same time as his brother Alexander McKay . He travelled widely in the regions north and west of the Great Lakes and traded along the Menominee River and afterwards at Portage la Prairie . He became a partner of the company in 1796 and retired in 1807 , in which year he was also made a member of the Beaver Club at Montreal . War of 1812 . When war broke out with the United States of America , McKay almost immediately offered his services to the British army . His first major contribution was to make a journey of by canoe from Montreal to the British military post on St . Joseph Island on Lake Huron via York , the provincial capital , in only eight days . The news of the declaration of war he carried , along with orders from Major General Isaac Brock , the Commander in Upper Canada , allowed the British detachment to take the American detachment at Fort Mackinac by surprise . This victory encouraged many Native Americans to side with the British , resulting in further British victories in the west during the following year . Later during the autumn and winter of 1812 , McKay returned to Montreal to help raise the Canadian Voyageurs , a corps which transported supplies to Upper Canada . When this corps was transferred to the Commissariat , McKay became an officer in the Select Embodied Militia . During 1813 , McKay was promoted to Major and given command of the Michigan Fencibles , a local quasi - regular unit recruited in the North West . Early in 1814 , the Americans had captured the isolated post of Prairie du Chien . This threatened the morale and allegiance of the Indians . Supported by the newly appointed Commander at Fort Mackinac , Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall , McKay ( who now held the local rank of Lieutenant Colonel ) mounted a scratch expedition of Fencibles , voyageurs and Indians which recaptured the post at the Siege of Prairie du Chien . McKay was later appointed to head the Indian Department at Mackinac . When the war ended , he ( and McDouall ) opposed returning Mackinac and Prairie du Chien to the Americans , as it would place many Indians at their mercy , but was overruled . Family . In the North West , McKay took a country wife , Josette Latour . In 1808 , at Montreal , he married Eliza Davidson , daughter of Judge Arthur Davidson ( 1743 - 1807 ) and his first wife , Jane , daughter of Alexander Fraser ( 1729 - 1799 ) , former officer in the 78th Fraser Highlanders and afterwards Seigneur of La Martinière , Vitré and Saint - Gilles . McKay died of cholera in 1832 , and was survived by one son ,