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 Wayne the gate and asked if they were meeting for peace or war. Winamac replied "I don't know what to tell you, but you know that Fort Mackinac is taken, Detroit is in the hands of the British, Fort Dearborn has been taken, and you must expect to fall next, probably in a few days." Morning 5 September, the siege began when Chief Winamac's forces attacked two soldiers returning from an outhouse. The Native Americans assaulted the fort from the east side and burned the homes of the surrounding village. The Indians constructed two wooden cannons and were able to trick