Originally allied with the British forces due to promises of blankets, gunpowder, and rum among other valuables, a large force of 700 Native Americans—Ottawas, Pottawatomis, Hurons (Wyandots), and Chippewas (Ojibways)—watched as the fort changed hands on November 29, 1760, French commander Captain François-Marie Picoté de Belestre handing the fort to famous British Ranger commander Major Robert Rogers.

[3][1] 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.

[2] 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.

[5] 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.

[9][5] Inside the fort resided approximately 2,500 people with 120 fighting men who consisted of one company of the 60th Royal American and Queen's Rangers along with armed traders and loyal Frenchmen.

[4][3] 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.

[1] On July 29, 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.

[1] 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.

[1] 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.

On October 31, 1763, finally convinced that the French in Illinois would not come to his aid, Pontiac lifted the siege and traveled south to the Maumee River, where he continued his efforts to rally resistance against the British.

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.