- For the action in the War of 1812, see the Siege of Detroit
The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit, or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the Anglo-American War of 1812...
The
Siege of Fort Detroit was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by North American Indians to capture
Fort DetroitFort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...
during
Pontiac's RebellionPontiac's Rebellion was a war launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British policies in the Great Lakes region after the British victory in the French...
. The
siegeA siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit"....
was led primarily by
PontiacPontiac or Obwandiyag , was the Ottawa tribe leader who became famous for his role in Pontiac's Rebellion , an American Indian struggle against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region following the British and Iroquois victory in the French and Indian War...
, an
OttawaThe Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwa nation...
war leader.
On April 27, 1763, Pontiac spoke at a council about 10 miles (15 km) south of
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
. Using the teachings of
NeolinNeolin was a prophet of the Lenni Lenape, who was derided by the British as "The Imposter." Beginning in 1762, Neolin believed that the native people needed to reject European goods and abandon dependency on foreign settlers in order to return to a more traditional lifestyle. He made arguments...
to inspire his listeners, Pontiac convinced a number of Ottawas,
OjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa is the largest group of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico, including Métis. They are the third-largest in the United States, surpassed only by Cherokee and Navajo. They're equally divided between the United States and Canada...
s,
PotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family...
s, and Hurons to join him in an attempt to seize Fort Detroit and drive out the British.
On May 7, Pontiac entered the fort with about 300 men, armed with weapons hidden under blankets, determined to take the fort by surprise.
- For the action in the War of 1812, see the Siege of Detroit
The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit, or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the Anglo-American War of 1812...
The
Siege of Fort Detroit was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by North American Indians to capture
Fort DetroitFort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...
during
Pontiac's RebellionPontiac's Rebellion was a war launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British policies in the Great Lakes region after the British victory in the French...
. The
siegeA siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit"....
was led primarily by
PontiacPontiac or Obwandiyag , was the Ottawa tribe leader who became famous for his role in Pontiac's Rebellion , an American Indian struggle against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region following the British and Iroquois victory in the French and Indian War...
, an
OttawaThe Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwa nation...
war leader.
Siege
On April 27, 1763, Pontiac spoke at a council about 10 miles (15 km) south of
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
. Using the teachings of
NeolinNeolin was a prophet of the Lenni Lenape, who was derided by the British as "The Imposter." Beginning in 1762, Neolin believed that the native people needed to reject European goods and abandon dependency on foreign settlers in order to return to a more traditional lifestyle. He made arguments...
to inspire his listeners, Pontiac convinced a number of Ottawas,
OjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa is the largest group of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico, including Métis. They are the third-largest in the United States, surpassed only by Cherokee and Navajo. They're equally divided between the United States and Canada...
s,
PotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family...
s, and Hurons to join him in an attempt to seize Fort Detroit and drive out the British.
On May 7, Pontiac entered the fort with about 300 men, armed with weapons hidden under blankets, determined to take the fort by surprise. However, the British commander
Henry GladwinHenry Gladwin was the British commander at Fort Detroit when it was besieged during Pontiac's Rebellion.British army officer in colonial America...
had apparently been informed of Pontiac's plan, and the garrison of about 120 men was armed and ready. Pontiac withdrew and, two days later, laid siege to the fort. A number of British soldiers and civilians in the area outside the fort were captured or killed; one of the soldiers was ritually
cannibalizedCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other humans.The word can be extended into zoology to mean any species consuming members of its own kind, and used outside of biological fields in a metaphorical sense: "Cannibalization" refers to the reuse of parts or ideas, such as...
, as was the custom in some Great Lakes Indian cultures. The violence was directed only at the British:
French colonistsHabitants is the name used to refer to both the French settlers and the inhabitants of French origin who farmed the land along the two shores of the St. Lawrence Gulf and River in what is the present-day Province of Quebec in Canada...
were left alone. Eventually more than 900 Indian warriors from a half-dozen tribes joined the siege.
On May 28, a supply convoy commanded by Lieutenant Abraham Cuyler stopped at
Point PeleePoint Pelee National Park extends from the mainland of Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It consists of a peninsula of land, mainly of marsh and woodland habitats, that tapers to a sharp point as it extends into Lake Erie...
on its way to Detroit. Unaware of the ongoing siege, Cuyler and his men made camp without taking extra security precautions. About 200 Indians attacked, killing or capturing 61 of the 96 men of Cuyler's expedition. Those who escaped made their way to
Fort SanduskyFort Sandusky was a small British fort in the Ohio Country, on the shore of Lake Erie in present-day Ohio, which was captured and destroyed by American Indians during Pontiac's Rebellion....
, but found it destroyed, and so they returned to
Fort NiagaraFort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
. The Indians took their captives to Detroit, where they were tortured and mutilated. The bodies were then tossed into the river to float by Fort Detroit, which undermined morale in the fort.
Late in July, 260 British reinforcements under the command of Captain James Dalyell arrived at Fort Detroit. On July 31, 1763, about 250 men attempted to make a surprise attack on Pontiac’s encampment. Pontiac was ready and waiting with over 400 warriors, and defeated the British at the
Battle of Bloody RunThe Battle of Bloody Run was fought during Pontiac's Rebellion on July 31, 1763. In an attempt to break Pontiac's siege of Fort Detroit, about 250 British troops attempted to make a surprise attack on Pontiac's encampment....
. However, the situation at the fort remained a stalemate, and Pontiac’s influence among his followers began to wane. Groups of Indians began to abandon the siege, some of them making peace with the British before departing. On October 31, 1763, finally convinced that the French in Illinois would not come to his aid, Pontiac lifted the siege and removed to the
Maumee RiverThe Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for about 130 mi through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before...
, where he continued his efforts to rally resistance against the British.
Further reading
- Quaife, Milo Milton, ed. The Siege of Detroit in 1763: The Journal of Pontiac's Conspiracy, and John Rutherfurd's Narrative of a Captivity. Chicago: R. R. Donnelley, 1958.
External links