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 Gaines 1864. With the fall of Fort Gaines, Granger left a garrison at the fort and immediately moved against Fort Morgan to the east. After a two-week siege - the Siege of Fort Morgan - General Page surrendered his fort too on August 23, 1864. The loss of these two forts gave control of Mobile Bay and ended the bay's use as a port for the Confederates. Siege of Fort Gaines The Siege of Fort Gaines occurred between August 3 and 8, 1864, during the American Civil War. It took place in the Mobile Bay area of Alabama as part of