Indiana give up: they captured Fort Ouiatenon and Fort Miami during Pontiac's Rebellion. The British royal proclamation of 1763 designated the land west of the Appalachians for Native American use, and excluded British colonists from the area, which the Crown called "Indian Territory". In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began as the colonists sought self-government and independence from the British. The majority of the fighting took place near the East Coast, but the Patriot military officer George Rogers Clark called for an army to help fight the British in the west. Clark's army won significant battles and took over Vincennes and
Siege of Fort Loudoun and continued to attack frontier settlements into 1760. In February 1760, they attacked Fort Prince George in an attempt to rescue their hostages. The fort's commander was killed. The garrison, in panicked retaliation, massacred all of the hostages. And two days later the fort fired artillery into the town of Keowee. The Cherokee now attacked Fort Ninety Six, but it withstood the siege. However, settlements and lesser posts in the South Carolina backcountry quickly fell to Cherokee raids. The Cherokee were led by Standing Turkey as Principal Chief, Oconostota ("Aganstata") of Chota, Attakullakulla ("Atagulgalu") of Tanasi, Ostenaco of Tomotley, Wauhatchie