Daniel Simmons, the Baptist minister who had established a mission in Hillsborough County in 1828 and had lived there until the Seminole War started, when he went to Alabama.

As the McKay schooner sailed south along the Florida coast, a violent storm drove the vessel upon a reef near the mouth of the Chassahowitzka River.

Captain McKay repeatedly swam through the rough surf to carry his wife, the children, and Madam Cail ashore.

[11] His accomplishments include the establishment of standard procedures and forms for licenses, ordinances and legal notices; regulation of the Jackson Street ferry service, and a rental agreement for the Fort Brooke military reservation after purchase attempts failed.

In 1858, McKay made a contract with the Morgan Line allowing him to use USS Magnolia (1854) twice a month at a price of $1,500 each run in order to ship cattle to Cuba.

Sometime around mid-April 1861 McKay made a deal with Lieutenant Henry Benson, with whom he had met and become friends with while serving as the sutler in Fort Myers.

The deal stipulated that he would provide beef at a bargain price to the Federal troops at Fort Jefferson and, in return, the Union Navy would not interfere with McKay's Cuban cattle trade.

Despite the best efforts of his prosecutor and political rival Senator James T. Magbee, McKay's trial was suspended and he immediately made plans to leave for Key West.

Whether it was a genuine offer or simply an excuse to leave, McKay asked local Confederate officials for permission to run cattle to Havana.

[12] On October 14, 1861, McKay and his 450-ton steamer, the Salvor, along with six cannons, 21,000 "stand of arms," 100 boxes of revolvers, and ammunition, were seized by the Union Navy.

He was frustrated with the difficulties in running cattle for the Confederacy and hired additional men to protect his herds from Union troops, pro-Union Floridians, and Confederate deserters.

In March 1864, McKay wrote a letter to the Secretary of War James Seddon proposing the formation of a unit specifically designated to protect the Florida cattle trade.