Pontiac (Ottawa leader) exaggerated. Historians today generally view him as an important local leader who influenced a wider movement that he did not command. The war began in May 1763 when Pontiac and 300 followers attempted to take Fort Detroit by surprise. His plan foiled, Pontiac laid siege to the fort, where he was eventually joined by more than 900 warriors from a half-dozen tribes. Meanwhile, messengers spread the word of Pontiac's actions, and the war expanded far beyond Detroit. In July 1763, Pontiac defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Bloody Run, but he was unable to capture the fort. In
Siege of Fort Augustus (December 1745) Siege of Fort Augustus (December 1745) The first siege of Fort Augustus took place in December 1745 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745. A force of 600 men from the recently formed Independent Highland Companies, formed to support the British-Hanoverian Government liberated the fort from the Clan Fraser after a small skirmish. The Clan Fraser had originally supported the British Government during the Jacobite rebellion of 1715–1716. However, during the rebellion of 1745–1746 a large number of them supported the Jacobite cause. Shortly after the siege of Fort Augustus, Lord Loudoun with 600 men of the Independent