Following Pontiac’s attack on Fort Detroit, word quickly spread to Indian villages across the region and other tribes followed suit. On May 16, Wyandot warriors approached Fort Sandusky, on the south shore of Lake Erie, and asked to smoke a peace pipe with the commandant, Ensign Paully. Unaware of the rebellion and on friendly terms with the Wyandots, Paully opened the gates and the warriors massacred the fifteen-man garrison. Similar stories began to unfold throughout the region.

Pontiac, an Ottawa war chief, launched his rebellion in May 1763 when he attacked Fort Detroit and its 120-man garrison commanded by Major Henry Gladwyn. The uprising would be the longest and most widespread ever in North America. Pontiac’s initial targets were nine British outposts, including Fort Detroit, the centerpiece of the region. These forts were more than 100 miles apart, rendering them incapable of supporting one another, a fact not lost on Pontiac.

As a result of the French and Indian War, the Ohio Country and the land around the Great Lakes changed from French to British control in the early 1760s. Indian nations worried that their way of life would be adversely affected by this change, and a charismatic Ottawa chief named Pontiac was determined to prevent this from happening. In late 1762, Pontiac sent emissaries to tribes across the region, challenging them to join his endeavor to drive out the British.