In this spirit of revenge and hatred a powerful confederacy was formed, including all the western tribes, under the command of Pontiac, alike renowned for his war like spirit, his wisdom and his bravery, and whose name was a terror to the entire region of the lakes. The blow was to be struck in the month of May, 1763. The tribes were to rise simultaneously and attack the English garrisons. Thus a sudden attack was made on all the western posts. Detroit was saved after a long and close siege. Forts Pitt and Niagara narrowly escaped, while Le Boeuf, Venango, Presqu' Isle, Miamis, St. Joseph, Quachtanon, Sandusky and Michillimackinac all fell into the hands of the Indians. Their garrisons were either butchered on the spot, or carried off to be tortured for the amusement of their cruel captors.
The savages swept over the surrounding country, carrying death and destruction wherever they went. Hundreds of traders were slaughtered without mercy, while their wives and children, if not murdered, were carried off captives. The property destroyed or stolen amounted, it is said to five hundred thousand pounds. Attacks were made on Forts Bedford and Ligonier, but without success. Fort Ligonier was under siege for two months. The preservation of this post was of the utmost importance, and Lieut. Blaine, by his courage and good conduct, managed to hold it until August 2, 1763, when Col. Bouquet arrived with his little army.
In the meantime, every preparation was made at Fort Pitt for an attack. The garrison at that post numbered three hundred and thirty, commanded by Capt. Simeon Ecuyer, a brave Swiss. The fortifications having been badly damaged by floods, were with great labor repaired. The barracks were made shot-proof to protect the women and children, and as the buildings inside were all of wood, a rude fire-engine was constructed to extinguish any flames kindled by the fire-arrows of the Indians. All the houses and cabins outside the walls were leveled to the ground. The fort was so crowded by the families of the settlers who had taken refuge there, that Ecuyer wrote to Col. Bouquet, "We are so crowded in the fort that I fear disease, for in spite of every care I cannot keep the place as clean as I should like. Besides, the smallpox is among us, and I have therefore caused a hospital to be built under the drawbridge."
Several weeks, however, elapsed before there was any determined attack from the enemy. On July 26th some chiefs asked for a parley with Capt. Ecuyer, which was granted. They demanded that he and all in the fort should leave immediately or it and they would all be destroyed. He replied that they would not go, closing his speech with these words: "Therefore, my brother, I will advise you to go home, * * * Moreover, I tell you if any of you appear again about this fort, I will throw bomb-shells which will burst and blow you to atoms, and fire cannon upon you loaded with a whole bag full of bullets. Take care, therefore, for I don't want to hurt you." On the night succeeding this parley the Indians approached in great numbers, crawling under the banks of the two rivers digging holes with their knives, in which they were completely sheltered from the fire of the fort. On one side the entire bank was lined with these burrows, from which they shot volleys or bullets, arrows and fire-arrows into the fort. The yelling was terrific, and the women and children in the crowded barracks clung to each other in abject terror. This attack lasted five days. On August 1st the Indians heard the rumor of Col. Bouquet's approach, which caused them to move on, and so the tired garrison was relieved.
When the news of this Indian uprising reached Gen. Amhurst, he ordered Col. Bouquet to march with a detachment of five hundred men to the relief of the besieged forts. The force was composed of companies from the Forty-second Highlanders and Seventy-seventh Regulars, to which were added six companies of Rangers. Bouquet established his camp in Carlisle at the end of June. Here he found every building, every house, every barn, every hovel, crowded with refugees. He writes to Gen. Amherst on July 13th, as follows: "The list of people known to be killed increases every day. The desolation of so many families, reduced to the last extreme of want and misery; the despair of those who have lost their parents; relations and friends, with the cries of distracted women and children who fill the streets, form a scene painful to humanity and impossible to describe."
William Pitt.
Strange as it may seem, the Province of Pennsylvania would do nothing to aid the troops who gathered for its defense. The Quakers, who had a majority in the Assembly, were non-combatants from principle and practice; and the Swiss and German Mennonites, who were numerous in Lancaster County, professed, like the Quakers, the principle of non-resistance, and refused to bear arms. Wagons and horses had been promised, but promises were broken. Bouquet writes again to Amherst: "I hope we shall be able to save that infatuated people from destruction, notwithstanding all their endeavors to defeat your vigorous measures." While Bouquet harassed and exasperated, labored on at his difficult task, the terror of the country people increased, until at last finding that they could hope for but little aid from the Government, they bestirred themselves with admirable spirit in their own defense. They raised small bodies of riflemen, who scoured the woods in front of the settlements, and succeeded in driving the enemy back. In some instances these men dressed themselves as Indian warriors, painted their faces red and black, and adopted the savage mode of warfare.