The Battle of Bloody Run was fought during
Pontiac's War
Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...
on July 31, 1763, on what now is the site of
Elmwood Cemetery in the
Eastside Historic Cemetery District
The Eastside Historic Cemetery District is a historic district bounded by Elmwood Avenue, Mt. Elliott Avenue, Lafayette Street, and Waterloo Street in Detroit, Michigan. The district consists of three separate cemeteries: Mount Elliott Cemetery ...
of
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. In an attempt to break
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
's
siege of Fort Detroit
The siege of Fort Detroit was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by North American Indians to capture Fort Detroit during Pontiac's Rebellion. The siege was led primarily by Pontiac, an Ottawa chief and military leader. This rebellion would be ...
, about 250 British troops attempted to make a surprise attack on Pontiac's encampment.
Pontiac was ready and waiting, possibly alerted by French settlers, and defeated the British at Parent's Creek east of the fort. However, he did not accomplish the destruction of this British force which would have greatly demoralized the British and dissuaded more British efforts to break the Indian siege of Fort Detroit. The creek, or ''run'', was said to have run red with the blood of the 20 dead and 41 wounded British forces and was henceforth known as Bloody Run. The British forces retreated with all their wounded and all but seven of those killed.
The attack's commander, Captain James Dalyell, was one of those killed.
After learning of Dalyell's death, General
Jeffery Amherst
Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...
offered a £200 bounty to anyone who would kill Pontiac.
The famous frontiersman
Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to:
Politics
* Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699
*Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician
* Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...
was one of the British commanders in this battle.
See also
*
List of battles won by Indigenous peoples of the Americas
*
Council Point Park
Council Point Park is a city-owned park in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located along the Ecorse River within the city of Lincoln Park. The park is 27 acres, and borders the cities of Wyandotte and Ecorse. The point itsel ...
References
External links
Michigan Historical Marker: Battle of Bloody Run
1763 in the British Empire
1763 in New France
Bloody Run
Conflicts in 1763
History of Detroit
Battles in Michigan
Battles won by indigenous peoples of the Americas
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