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Overview:
The Siege of Fort Detroit (1763) is seen as the event that precipitated what would come to be known as Pontiac’s Rebellion. This rebellion would be one of the catalysts that hastened the declaration of the Proclamation of 1763 which would eventually precipitate the events leading to the American Revolution. This particular assault was also personally planned and executed under the leadership of Chief Pontiac.

Background:
Originally being a French fort, Fort Detroit was handed over to British and colonial American forces on November 29, 1760 by French commander Captain François-Marie Picoté de Belestre to famous British Ranger commander Major Robert Rogers. Originally allied with the British forces due to promises of blankets gunpowder, and rum among other valuables, a large force of 700 Native Americans comprised of Ottawas, Pottawatomis, Hurons (Wyandots), and Chippewas (Ojibways) watched as the fort changed hands on November 29, 1760. After the British took control over Fort Detroit, the native inhabitants surrounding the fort grew discontent at the amount of goods that were being made available to trade to them. Primarily, the natives were upset at the lack of rum, powder, ammunition, and gifts that were offered by the British for trading. Yet despite attempts by the Colonial Superintendent to Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, to appease the natives by gifting them garden hoes, and promising lower trade prices, a physician available at the fort, and a gunsmith, the natives remained distrustful of the new British garrison. Looking to take advantage of this growing animosity towards the British and tacit support from local French settlers, a highly influential Ottawa Chief by the name of Pontiac gathered neighboring tribes to form a military alliance. On the night of April 27, 1763, Chief Pontiac held a council 10 miles form Fort Detroit off the Ecorse River where he was able to recruit the local tribes of the Pottawatomi, Hurons, and Chippewas, along with his tribe of Ottawa to launch an assault on the British garrison at Detroit in the future.

The life of Pontiac before the events of the siege are not well known. Although, it is known that he was born into the two most powerful tribes of the Great Lakes area in the Ojibwa and Ottawa (his parents were of those tribes). He participated in the French and Indian War where he gained influence among other tribes in lobbying other chiefs into continue supporting the French. It is estimated that he was between 40-50 years old at the start of the Siege of Detroit.

First Attempt:
Before attempting any serious assault on the fort, Pontiac ventured to Fort Detroit with a following of 40-50 Ottawa to conduct a reconnaissance of the Fort so as to estimate the strength of the garrison and identify trading posts to plunder. Upon entering Pontiac entertained British officers with a ceremonial dance while 10 of his followers dispersed through the stockade. On May 7th, after organizing a coalition of around 300 Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Huron, Pontiac led a group of Ottawa warriors into the fort with weapons concealed in blankets under the guise of a meeting with the commander of the fort, Major Gladwin. The plan was for Pontiac to give a speech to Major Gladwin while holding a wampum belt. Once Pontiac gave the signal, the 60 Ottawa in the fort would attack the British forces while the Huron and Pottawatomi forces surrounded the fort to captured any settlers and intercept British reinforcements. However, Major Gladwin somehow was informed of Pontiac's plan and when Pontiac entered the fort he was met by scores of British soldiers and merchants lining the streets with weapons drawn. Seeing that his plan was foiled, Pontiac left but not before promising Major Gladwin of his return so that they could smoke the peace pipe.

On May 9th, Pontiac returned with a contingent of 64 canoes filled with his followers and demanded that he be let in so as to smoke with Major Gladwin. Gladwin responded that only Pontiac would be let in which prompted Pontiac to give up his subversive activities and initiate the siege.

The Siege:
After being refused admittance into the fort, Pontiac gathered his warriors and raided English settlements around Fort Detroit where they killed 15 people (soldiers and civilians). Pontiac also moved his encampment 2 miles North of Fort Detroit at the mouth of what is now Bloody Run Creek (formerly Parent's Creek) which would become the sight of a major ambush later. Shortly after the start of the siege, Pontiac met with two British officers to inquire about a potential peace at the house of a Frenchman. There, Pontiac took the two men hostage until resolution of the peace talks. With the peace talk going nowhere, Pontiac renewed his assault on the fort, but his weapons were ineffectual against the walls of the fort. Eventually, Pontiac's forces pulled back their front line which enabled the British to venture out of the fort and destroy any potential cover (trees, fences) for the Indians that surrounded the fort.

At the start of the siege, Fort Detroit was a square shaped stockade at 1,000 yards circumference surrounded by a palisade with cannons and mortars mounted on bastions. Inside the fort resided approximately 2,500 people with 120 fighting men who comprised of one company of the 60th Royal American and Queen's Rangers along with armed traders and loyal Frenchmen. The supplies of the fort were dwindling with only ten days rations left at the start of the siege. Directly outside the fort, on the Detroit River, was the schooner Huron and the sloop Michigan each armed with six and ten cannons respectively. In need of supplies and reinforcements, a force of close to a hundred men set out on Lake Erie to reach Fort Detroit. The detachment of small boats led by a Lieutenant Cuyler, stopped by the mouth of the Detroit River on the North shore to make camp when they were ambushed. Only 40 of the detachment escaped along with Lieutenant Cuyler while close to 60 were killed or captured. This battle would eventually become known as the Battle of Point Pelee.

Not long after the battle, the schooner Huron fought off a assault of canoes that were approaching it from all sides. 14 of Pontiac's men were killed in the failed assault with no British casualties. The ships were targeted again on the night of July 9th when Pontiac sent small boats filled with burning sticks and tar to ignite the wooden hulls of the ships. The ships were able to dodge the floating hazards and were subjected to the same the following night although neither attempts by Pontiac's forces were successful.

On July 29th, a force of 260 British soldiers commanded by Captain James Dalyell arrived on the river to reinforce Fort Detroit along with a contingent of Queen's Rangers led by Robert Rogers himself.

Battle of Bloody Run
The day after arriving at the fort, Captain Dalyell persuaded Major Gladwin to allow him to take a force of 247 soldiers and ambush Pontiac's encampment. The force started out at 2:30 am towards Parent's Creek (now Bloody Run Creek) where they were instead ambushed by 150 of Pontiac's men who had advance intelligence from French spies that a British force was incoming. Pontiac laid a plan to trap the British and sent 250 of his warriors to prevent the British retreat back towards the fort. Upon first crossing the river, the British force was met with a wave of Indian gunfire and retreated in confusion. While the British were eventually able to break through Pontiac's trap by capturing a local barn to provide covering fire while the rest of the force fought their way back up until reaching the fort doors. It cost them 23 dead, 34 wounded, and the death of Captain Dalyell.

End of the Siege
The fort would hold throughout the summer and fall without much military action from either side since both were keen to avoid losses. After a while, Pontiac's followers grew impatient without a victory, the approach of the hunting season, and the first hard freeze and snowfall in October wasn't helping Pontiac's encampment. Eventually, Pontiac made peace with Major Gladwin at the behest of the French who encouraged him to make peace with the British since they had already done so previously. Ultimately, Pontiac's unsuccessful attempt to take Fort Detroit and achieve success in his rebellion did not change the status quo relationship between the British and the natives that existed before the conflict. Native life was greatly disrupted from losing many people and opportunitites to invest in other economic activities. For the British, this widely ensured that they could focus their attention on the coastal colonies since the backcountry was mostly subdued. In time (October of 1763), this would result in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 that would signify a change in British policy towards the American frontier that would lead to the American Revolutionary War.