Fort Pitt Museum Pitt, after William Pitt the Elder. As a result, in 1763 local Delawares and Shawnees took part in Pontiac's Rebellion, an effort to drive the British out of their territory. The Indians' siege of Fort Pitt began on June 22, 1763, but the fort was too strong to be taken by force. In negotiations during the siege, the commander of Fort Pitt gave two Delaware emissaries blankets that had been exposed to smallpox, in hopes of infecting the surrounding Indians and ending the siege. The effectiveness of this attempt is unclear. Outbreaks of smallpox had plagued Native Americans for years
Lenape of a warrior to stop further white settlement of their land. At the time of the American Revolution, the Lenape in Ohio were deeply divided over which side, if any, to take in the war. During this time, the Lenape bands were living in numerous villages around their main village of "Coshocton", between the western frontier strongholds of the British and the Patriots. The American colonists had Fort Pitt (present-day Pittsburgh) and the British, along with Indian allies, controlled the area of Fort Detroit (in present-day Michigan). During the French and Indian War, Killbuck had assisted the English against their