ONEOFMANYFEATHERS'
Great Leaders, Warriors and People
Chief Pontiac
Pontiac was the son of an Ottawa father and an Ojibway mother. He was born on the Maumee River, in what is present day Ohio.
Many events lead up to Pontiac's rise. In the past, Indians were 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. They treated the Indians, not as friends, but as conquered people. In addition, the French along the Mississippi, were proclaiming that the lands would return to French control after peace agreements were written.
In April 1763, encouraged by Canadian frontiersmen , several tribes banded together under the leadership of Pontiac in an effort to regain control of the Ohio Valley.
Under Pontiacs leadership, Native American warriors captured most of the trans-Allegheny forts, with the exception of Fort Pitt. Pontiac wanted to return to the days of French control of the region. The warriors embraced the idea, and Pontiac announced his plans to take the fort at Detroit.
Under pretense of performing a ceremonial dance, Pontiac and 50 of his braves entered the fort. He informed the post commander, Maj. Henry Gladwin, that he and his men would be back in a few days for a good-will council, the plan being that he would enter the fort officially with his braves and the rest of the adults of the tribes would walk into the fort after him, carrying concealed knives, tomahawks and sawed-off muskets under their blankets. At his signal, they would cast off their blankets and attack the soldiers of the fort. The Hurons and Potawatomi would seize the English outside the fort and ambush any English ships on the river. Somehow, Gladwin caught wind of the plan. Gladwin allowed the dance, but 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 fired on the fort. Gladwin was told, that if he surrendered now, the lives of all 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.
