Siege of Fort Detroit had apparently been informed of Pontiac's plan, and the garrison of about 120 men was armed and ready. Pontiac withdrew and, two days later, laid siege to the fort. A number of British soldiers and civilians in the area outside the fort were captured or killed; one of the soldiers was ritually cannibalized, as was the custom in some Great Lakes Indian cultures. The violence was directed only at the British: French colonists were left alone. Eventually more than 900 Indian warriors from a half-dozen tribes joined the siege. On May 28, a supply convoy commanded by Lieutenant Abraham Cuyler
Siege of Detroit Siege of Detroit The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the British-U.S. War of 1812. A British force under Major General Isaac Brock with American Indian allies under Shawnee leader Tecumseh used bluff and deception to intimidate U.S. Brigadier General William Hull into surrendering the fort and town of Detroit, Michigan and his dispirited army, which actually outnumbered the victorious British and Indians. The British victory reinvigorated the militia and civil authorities of Upper Canada, who had previously been pessimistic and affected by pro-U.S. agitators.