By
1762, only the western Indians alone remained hostile. The Shawnees, Delawares, and other
tribes harassed frontiersmen and their families during the harvest, scalping and killing
many. Western parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia were under a constant threat.
Then in January, the news came to Detroit of the primary peace terms. The
English would continue to have control. With the French eliminated, the Native Americans
were left alone in their fight against colonial aggression. Most of the tribes now felt
they must break the English grip before it could become permanent. Pontiac was capable,
and ready to assume the role of leader. His call to arms was almost unanimously excepted.
The Nations most strike as one, and crush the whites before they destroyed the Indians.
In April 1763, encouraged by Canadian frontiersmen of mixed parentage,
several tribes banded together under the leadership of Pontiac in an effort to regain
control of the Ohio Valley. Pontiac seems to have appeared out of nowhere, according to
French and English records. He is was not mentioned prier to 1763. The first mention of
Pontiac, comes from Major Henry Gladwin, commander of Detroit, in a report of his post
being attacked by Indians under the leadership of Pontiac, an Ottawa chief. What is known
of him, is that he was a charismatic orator, and natural leader. His meteoric rise to
power proves this. Under the Ottawa chief Pontiac, Native American warriors captured most
of the trans-Allegheny forts, with the exception of Fort Pitt.
The events leading up to Pontiac's rise were many. In the past, Indians
had been able to keep the whites off balance, by playing one nation against the other. But
now the French had been defeated in North America, and the English were in control of all
the inland posts. Once there, they had begun to treat the Indians, not as friends, but as
conquered people. To add to this, the French along the Mississippi, had been proclaiming
that the lands would return to French control after peace agreements were written. After
all that had been the way of the last war.
By May, each delegate had returned to his nation, ready to the regional
objective given him. Pontiac himself would take the most important objective: Detroit, a
strong fortification, garrisoned by two companies of Royal Americans and one company of
Queens Rangers. Cannon were mounted in the corner blockhouses and two schooners were
anchored at the water gate.
Pontiac, knowing the Indian temperament would not tolerate a long siege,
attempted to take the fort by subterfuge. He sent word to Major Gladwin, that the Indians
wished to stage a calumet dance at his headquarters. To pledge English-Indian friendship.
Once inside the walls of the fort, Pontiac and his men, would kill Gladwin and his men.
The Indians would carry sawed off muskets under their blankets in order to accomplish
this. Although Gladwin allowed the dance, he had his men armed and alert. Pontiac’s
plan could only fail, so the dance was completed, and the Indians withdrew.
Now Pontiac would have to put the fort under siege. Warriors rushed from
the surrounding woods, and began firing on the fort. Gladwin was sent the message that if
he surrendered now, the lives of he and his men would be spared, but if he chose to fight,
all would be killed. Gladwin declined to surrender, but sent his second in command,
Lieutenant Donald Campbell, and Lieutenant George McDougal, to Pontiac under a flag of
truce. In order to convince both the Indians and Gladwin, of his determination, Pontiac
took the men captive.
Almost simultaneously, the Indians attacked and took possession of forts
Le Boeuf, Venango, Presque Isle, Sandusky, La Baie, and outposts on the Saint Joseph
River, Miami River, the Ouibache (Wabash) River and at Michilimackinac. All the garrisons
at these forts were weak and were dependent on the Indians for supplies. Fort Niagara was
not attacked, but Forts Pitt and the Detroit were blockaded and exposed to Indian attack.
Fort Sandusky, under the command of Ensign Christopher Paully, was the
first to fall. The garrison was murdered, the fort burned, and Paully was taken captive to
Detroit. Here he was burned to death, in sight of the fort.
Fort St. Joseph’s, was the next to fall, on May 25. Recently built
and staffed by a garrison of fourteen men, under Ensign Francis Schlosser, it was easily
taken. Eleven of the garrison were killed. Schlosser and three surviving soldiers were
taken to Detroit and exchanged for some Potawatomi prisoners Gladwin had been holding.
This was followed by the capture of Fort Miami ( Ft. Wayne, In. ),
commanded by Ensign Robert Holmes. Holmes was tempted to follow his Indian mistress to her
mother’s wigwam. When he was clear of the fort, he was shot down. His sergeant,
hearing the shot, ran out to give aid. He was also killed. Holmes’ head was thrown
over the wall of the fort. A French trader, soon called out to the garrison that they
would be spared if they surrendered. Leaderless and terrified, they opened the gates only
to be massacred. Only six were spared to later be burned at the stake.
Fort
Quiatanon, the most distant and isolated English post, was next to
fall. Lieutenant Edward Jenkins, commander, knew there could be no hope of any
reinforcements. This time, some French traders intervened to help. With their help, a
surrender was negotiated, and although the fort was burned, the lives of every member of
the command were spared.
Next came Fort Michilimackinac. Surrounded by Indians who had always
hated the English, Major George Etherington still felt secure in the strength of his
garrison. So it was that on June 4th, teams of Chippawa and Sauk began a game of lacrosse
near the fort. Etherington and some off duty soldiers left the fort to watch the game. As
the game progressed, a prearranged signal was given and the ball was kicked into the open
gates of the fort. Then the players rushed towards the gates, where Indian women handed
them weapons they had concealed under blankets. Once armed, the ballplayers continued
through the gates, killing every soldier and English trader they could. Only Major
Etherington, Lieutenant William Leslie, and some twenty men survived the initial attack.
They were stripped and tied to trees, while the Indians decided what should be done with
them.
Shortly there after, a group of Ottawa appeared. Finding the fort taken,
and no spoils left for them, they demanded they be given the captives. After much debate,
the Ottawa were given Etherington, Leslie, and eleven of the soldiers. So it went for many
fearful days, until they were released. A council that included a delegation of Sioux had
been held to decided their fate, and the Sioux had persuaded the Ottawa to spare the
English. "Not because we love the English, but because we hate the Chippawa!) The
English were allowed to return to Montreal.
Fort Presque Isle was lost on June 18th. This was a wooden stockade with a
blockhouse on one corner, commanded by Ensign John Christie with a garrison of twenty one
men, plus six of Lieutenant Cuyler’s men, making a total of twenty eight men. On June
15th, Indians appeared, and immediately began a very un-Indian-like siege. The tribesmen
built a log screens, and hiding behind them, advanced the fort. Using this cover the
Indians began a heavy fire on the fort. Christie was forced to pull back to the
blockhouse.
The Indians, sensing the troops were massed in the blockhouse, gained
entrance to the stockade. This gave the Indians control of the fort’s water supply,
the well. The English were forced to dig a tunnel to reach the well. The Indians in turn
dug a tunnel to site near the officer’s quarters, in order to safely set fire to the
blockhouse. Though the blockhouse is scorched badly, the English manage to extinguish the
flames.
Due to his belief that
the Indians would soon be able to dig under the blockhouse and burn it, Christie opens
negotiations. He is told through an interpreter that he has until morning to decide:
surrender or die. He decided to surrender. The entire garrison was taken prisoner to
Detroit, to be displayed to the garrison there. Christie was later exchanged, and lived to
face a Court Martial for his quick surrender. He was testified against by some of his own
men that survived.
June 19th, Fort Le Boeuf, garrisoned by thirteen men under command of
Ensign George Price, is approached by Indians attempting to enter under the guise of
needing a kettle to cook meat. The Indians are turned away, only to gain control of a
nearby stone cellar. From this cover, they proceed to shoot fire-arrows at the fort. By
nightfall, the roof of the fort is ablaze. Fearing they would be trapped under the
collapsing roof beams, the English cut a hole in the wall opposite the Indians. While the
Indians thought them near death, Price and the eleven surviving men escaped into the
forest. Eventually they made their way to Fort Pitt.
The story of the fall of Venango is short and sad. It was a new, strong
fort under the command of Lieutenant Francis Gordon. On June 18th, a party of Seneca
approached the fort. Seeing the Indians and thinking them friendly, since they were
Iroquois, he ordered the gate to be opened. Not a man lived to tell the tale. It was later
told by the Seneca, all were massacred save Price. Him they managed by slow torture, to
keep alive until late the next day.
Sir Jeffery Amherst, the British commander-in-chief, dispatched troops
led by Captain James Dalyell, his aid-de-camp, to reinforce Niagara and Detroit. After a
contingent took off for Niagara, the remainder continued on to Detroit, where they arrived
on July 30th. Dalyell left the fort there with 250 men on July 31st to to engage the
Indians in the region. The British were confronted by a superior force of Indians causing
them to retreat, but not before Captain Dalyell and nineteen soldiers were killed.
Colonel Henry Bouquet was dispatched with troops to relieve Fort Pitt. Fort
Ligonier, which contained provisions for the relief of Fort Pitt, was also in danger. Two
companies of light infantry sent to reinforce Fort Ligonier were joined by troops from
Fort Bedford, thus negating any plan of Indian attack.
Bouquet assembled his troops at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and marched to Fort
Bedford, arriving on July 25th. When the Indians learned of his presence, they raised
their siege of Fort Pitt and concentrated their forces for an attack on the British
troops. Bouquet moved his troops to Fort Ligonier on July 10th. After leaving stores
there, he proceeded toward Fort Pitt. They stopped at Bushy Run, a creek to the east of
Fort Pitt, to refresh the men and horses and on the night of August 4th set out for their
destination.
The following day the advance guard was attacked by Indians from one side
of the road. More troops were sent to the area of attack and drove the Indians back. The
Indians continued to attack, however, at several points through the day and eventually
surrounded the whole British force. Bouquet then opened up his files and moved some of the
troops to make it appear as if they were retreating. The Indians, sensing an advantage,
proceeded to attack, at which point the British troops closed in from the flanks. The
remaining troops turned and met the Indians head-on, causing them to flee. The British
returned to their encampment at Bushy Run, where the Indians attacked and were again
dispersed. With the defeat of the Indians at Bushy Run the British continued to Fort Pitt
unimpeded and replenished that post.
On September 3rd a schooner carrying provisions from Niagara entered the
Detroit River. That evening it was attacked by some 350 Indians in canoes. While the
fighting was fierce, the Indians were soon repelled and the provisions delivered to the
starving garrison
Major Henry Gladwin, at Detroit
continued to trade blows with the Indians. The schooner Huron, which was bringing
supplies to the fort, anchored at the mouth of the river. Indians attacked the vessel, but
failed to capture it and suffered heavy casualties. The Indians led by Pontiac lost their
enthusiasm for battle because of the lack of significant victories and the deaths of
several chiefs. Pontiac was forced to capitulate on October 31, 1763
Pontiac's Uprising
