Fort Detroit the Native Americans to trap and hunt, as well as rendering them less of a threat. The British colonists did not emphasize maintaining good relationships with the Native Americans. But the French Canadians had formed many families through intermarriage and knew about the Native American custom of giving gifts. After the French left the conflict, Pontiac war-leader of the Ottawa, rallied several tribes in Pontiac's Rebellion. He attempted to capture Detroit from the British on May 7, 1763. They failed to capture the fort, as the British were forewarned of the attack, but did lay siege to it (see the
Siege of Fort Henry (1777) of Virginia and Pennsylvania that Indians living in the Ohio Country were planning attacks on frontier settlements on and around the Ohio River. Fort Henry, which had been constructed in 1774 to protect the settlers in the area around what is now Wheeling, West Virginia, was one of the rumored targets. In early August, General Edward Hand, the commander at nearby Fort Pitt warned Lieutenant David Shepherd and all of the local militia captains of the threat, ordering them to gather at Fort Henry. For a time thereafter, militia companies stayed at Fort Henry, improving its defenses and patrolling for