The river flowing between
Lake St. Clair and
Lake Erie was called by
Le Détroit du Lac Érié by the French, meaning "The Strait of Lake Erie." In 1698, Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac, who had previously commanded
Fort de Buade at
Michilimackinac, proposed the establishment of a colony at Detroit. French families would be recruited as settlers, and the Indigenous tribes living near Michilimackinac would be encouraged to migrate to the area. The settlement would not only prevent English expansion into the ''
Pays d'en Haut'' (Upper Country), but would also deter
Iroquois aggression.
Jérôme Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain, the French
Secretary of State of the Navy, approved the plan despite the misgivings of
New France's
Governor and
Intendant. In June 1701, Cadillac set out from
Lachine near
Montreal with 100 settlers and soldiers. The expedition followed a northerly route up the
Ottawa River and across to
Georgian Bay and
Lake Huron. The expedition reached
Grosse Ile on the
Detroit River on July 23. The following day, the expedition returned upstream several miles to a bluff on the north shore of the river at its narrowest point. Cadillac commenced the construction of a fort at this location which he named
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit. The first building completed was a chapel dedicated to
Saint Anne, the patron saint of New France. In September, the first two European women arrived at the fort: Cadillac's wife,
Marie-Thérèse Guyon, and Marie Anne Picoté de Belestre, the wife of Cadillac's lieutenant,
Alphonse de Tonty. Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit was built from white oak and initially enclosed an area of about . The
palisade was roughly tall with a
bastion positioned at each corner. Dwellings, a warehouse, and the chapel were constructed inside the fort. For many years the entire European population lived within the palisade. In October 1703, a fire destroyed the chapel and the house of the Recollect priest, Constantin Delhalle, as well as the residences of Cadillac and Tonty. After the fort was established,
Odawa (Ottawa) from Michilimackinac, and
Wyandot (Huron) from Michilimackinac and the
St. Joseph River migrated to Detroit and established palisaded villages. Groups of
Miami,
Ojibwe and later
Potawatomi also migrated to the area. In 1705, Cadillac reported an Indigenous population at Detroit of 2,000.
Conflict among Indigenous tribes In June 1706, while Cadillac was at
Quebec, Odawa warriors at Detroit organized an expedition against the
Sioux. As they were setting out, a Potowatomi who had married a Miami woman mistakenly warned the Odawa that the Miami were planning to raid their village during their absence. The Odawa chief known as Le Pesant or "The Bear" decided to turn back and lead a preemptive strike. They surprised eight Miami near the fort and slew seven of them.
Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, who was commanding Fort Pontchartrain in Cadillac's absence, provided sanctuary to the Miami and ordered his men to open fire on the Odawa. Father Delhalle and a soldier were caught outside the fort and were killed. In the series of raids, ambushes, and counter-attacks that followed, the Miami were joined by the Wyandot. About 30 Odawa, 50 Miami and an unknown number of Wyandot were killed. The Odawa abandoned their village and moved back to Michilimackinac but returned by 1708. Contemporary accounts, both Indigenous and French, do not agree on the cause of the attack or who was to blame. The Governor General of New France,
Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil concluded that Le Pesant was responsible. Vaunreuil insisted that Le Pesant be turned over to the French, and gave Cadillac the authority to arrest and execute him. Le Pesant was apprehended at Michilimackinac and brought to Detroit but was allowed to escape. Angry that Le Pesant had not been executed, the Miami and Wyandot murdered three settlers in the vicinity of the fort. Cadillac later led a lackluster attack against the Miami settled on the St. Joseph River. The Wyandot leader Cheanonvouzon may have orchestrated the conflict by spreading false rumours and encouraging Miami aggression. Cheanonvouzon, known as
Quarante Sols by the French and Michipichy by the Odawa, was the leader of a band that had split from the Wyandot at Michilimackinac about 1690 and had lived among the Miami before rejoining the Michilimackinac band at Detroit. Cheanonvouzon sought to reclaim Wyandot autonomy from the more numerous Odawa. To this end he established a trade alliance with the Miami and
Iroquois. The alliance with the Iroquois gave the Wyandot access to goods like Caribbean rum and scarlet woollens which could be acquired from the British at
Albany but not from the French. In 1710, two bands of Meskwaki along with some Kickapoo and Mascouten moved to the headwaters of the
Grand and St. Joseph rivers. One group of Meskwaki established an encampment near Fort Pontchartrain later that year. Cadillac's successor,
Jacques-Charles Renaud Dubuisson, was opposed to having Indigenous tribes settle at Detroit, and considered the Meskwaki and their allies to be troublemakers. The Meskwaki stole livestock, taunted the Odawa and Wyandot, claimed they were the rightful masters of Detroit, and openly boasted about their plans to trade with the English. This band abruptly abandoned Detroit early in the spring of 1712 and took refuge among the
Seneca. In April 1712, the Odawa war chief Saguima led Odawa and Potawatomi warriors in a surprise attack against the Mascouten living at the headwaters of the St. Joseph River. Over 150 of the Mascouten were killed including women and children. Saguima had initially planned to attack the Meskwaki living there, however, that band had moved to Detroit shortly before the attack. The Mascouten survivors took refuge with the Meskwaki who proceeded to build a fortified camp close to Fort Pontchartrain. In retaliation for the attack on the Mascouten, the Meskwaki raided the Odawa village at Detroit, captured three women including Saguima's wife, then invested Fort Pontchartrain. Dubuisson, however, was able to get word to Saguima and to the Wyandot who were at their hunting camps on
Saginaw Bay.
Renewed conflict During the Fox Wars, the animosity between the Wyandot and Odawa at Detroit abated, but tempers flared again in 1738 when the Wyandot announced that they would no longer participate in joint raids against the
Catawba (Flatheads). After an Odawa raid was routed by the Catawba with Wyandot assistance, the Odawa harassed and threatened the Wyandot, prompting them to relocate to
Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie. Upon returning to Detroit the following year, the Wyandot debated whether they should move to the
St. Lawrence River valley, remain near Detroit, or settle permanently at Sandusky. While one group decided to establish a village on
Bois Blanc Island at the mouth of the
Detroit River, another group led by Angouirot and
Nicholas Orontony returned to Sandusky and constructed a village south of the bay which became known as
Junundat. During
King George's War, the Wyandot, Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomis at Detroit initially supported the French and sent warriors to Montreal, but withdrew their support when the war curtailed the supply of trade goods. In 1757, prior to the
siege of Fort William Henry, a British
reconnaissance in force of 350 men was
ambushed at Sabbath Day Point on
Lake George by 50 Canadian militia and 450 Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi including warriors from Detroit. About 100 members of the provincial
1st New Jersey Regiment (Jersey Blues) were killed or drowned while 150 were taken prisoner. In September 1758, during the
Forbes Expedition, a British reconnaissance force of 800 led by Major James Grant attempted to capture Fort Duquesne but was overwhelmed by the French, Odawa and Wyandot defenders. A third of the British force was killed, wounded or captured including Grant. Afterwards, most of the Wyandot and Odawa returned to Detroit with their captives and trophies, significantly weakening Fort Duquesne's defences. The French garrison destroyed the fort and withdrew from the area before the main body of the expedition arrived in November. The disruption to the flow of trade goods that followed the 1758
Siege of Louisbourg and the capture of
Fort Frontenac on
Lake Ontario that same year effectively ended the participation of Detroit's Indigenous population in the war. On July 29, 260 British reinforcements arrived under the command of Captain James Dalyell. The following day, Dalyell attempted an attack on Pontiac's encampment north of the fort. Pontiac ambushed the British force at the
Battle of Bloody Run, costing the British 23 dead and 34 wounded. Roughly 4,000 Wyandot, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe lived in the Detroit area. They were referred to as the "Lakes' Nations" by the British and could field close to 1,200 warriors. At a council held at Detroit in 1775, the Lakes' Nations indicated their support of the British, as did the local French-speaking inhabitants. The following spring, during a council at Detroit, Hamilton once again urged Britain's Indigenous allies to "not redden the axe... with the blood of women or children or innocent men." In response, Hamilton set out from Detroit on October 7 with 125 militia and 60 Lakes' Nation warriors. They were later joined by a 34-man detachment from the 8th Regiment. Hamilton surprised
Fort Sackville's small garrison and retook Vincennes on December 17. He decided to winter at Vincennes with the British regulars, while most of the militia, volunteers, and Lakes' Nations warriors returned to Detroit. Hamilton was taken to
Williamsburg, Virginia, falsely accused of paying for scalps, and was treated as a criminal rather than a prisoner of war. The Virginia Council, headed by
Thomas Jefferson, ordered Hamilton placed in irons and confined to the Williamsburg jail. These harsh measures were relaxed several weeks later due to the intervention of George Washington. Hamilton accepted parole to
New York in October 1780 and was officially exchanged in the spring of 1781. In Hamilton's absence, Lernoult took steps to strengthen Detroit's defences. He began construction of a substantial
redoubt on the high ground overlooking the stockaded town. Assisted by many of the inhabitants, the soldiers of the garrison dug ditches and erected an earthwork fortification of four half-bastions surmounted by a palisade. Work was completed in April 1779 and the fortification was given the name Fort Lernoult. Later in the war, a palisade was constructed that enclosed the area between the fort and the town. In May 1778, Brigadier General
Lachlan McIntosh was given command of the Western Department of the
Continental Army. He was authorized by
Congress to launch an expedition against Detroit, however, was only assigned two Continental regiments, roughly 250 men. McIntosh departed Fort Pitt on October 23, established
Fort McIntosh at the confluence of the
Ohio and
Beaver rivers, and began construction of
Fort Laurens on the
Tuscarawas River in mid-November. Due to a shortage of provisions, McIntosh decided to return to Fort Pitt leaving the
11th Virginia Regiment to garrison the fort. That winter the garrison suffered greatly from a lack of food and warm clothing. Lernoult dispatched Captain Henry Bird of the 8th Regiment and a small number of regulars to attack Fort Laurens. Bird recruited a few hundred Wyandot and Mingo warriors from the Sandusky area and began a siege on February 22, 1779. Due to the harsh winter conditions, Bird lifted the siege a month later and withdrew back to Detroit, shortly before American reinforcements arrived.
Daniel Brodhead who had replaced McIntosh as commander of the Western Department, decided that Fort Lauren's location was untenable and ordered the fort abandoned. In response to news of Hamilton's capture, and in anticipation of an American campaign against Detroit, a company of Butler's Rangers and a detachment of the
47th Regiment of Foot was sent to augment the garrison. On 1 November 1779, Major
Arent DePeyster, who had previously commanded at Michilimackinac, succeeded Captain Lernolt as Fort Detroit's commander. In May 1780, DePeyster ordered an
expedition against American forces at the Falls of the Ohio (
Louisville). He choose Captain Bird to lead the force of 150 soldiers from the 8th Regiment, 47th Regiment, Royal Artillery, and Detroit militia, accompanied by 100 Lakes' Nations warriors. At the confluence of the Ohio and
Great Miami rivers, Bird rendezvoused with Alexander McKee of the British Indian Department who had recruited several hundred warriors from the Ohio Country. Although Bird's orders were to proceed to the Falls of the Ohio, he was overruled by his Indigenous allies who preferred to attack the isolated settlements on the
Licking River. In late June, Bird's expedition destroyed the fortified settlements of Ruddle's Fort and Martin's Station. A number of non-combatants were killed or wounded at Ruddle's Fort when the Indigenous warriors ignored the terms of surrender and took most of the inhabitants captive. Bird reported to DePeyster that the Indigenous auxiliaries "rush'd in, tore the poor children from their mothers Breasts, killed a wounded man and every one of the cattle." Bird was able to prevent a repeat when Martin's Station surrendered, however, both forts were plundered and burned. Afterwards, Bird's regulars and militia escorted about 150 men, women and children to Detroit, arriving there in early August. Of the 200–250 prisoners taken by the Indigenous auxiliaries, most were brought to Detroit, but a number were killed en route in what historian Russell Mahan has called a death march. A few others, mostly young women and children, were held captive until the end of the war and in some cases for years afterwards. Few Pennsylvanians were willing to participate in an expedition headed by a Virginian due to lingering resentment over a recently settled border dispute. An exception was Colonel
Archibald Lochry, commander of the
Westmoreland militia who raised 107 volunteers for the campaign. When DePeyster became aware of Clark's planned expedition, he dispatched Andrew Thompson's company of Butler's Rangers to the Wyandot town of Upper Sandusky, while Indian Department officials began to gather Indigenous auxiliaries. In mid-August, Mohawk war leader
Joseph Brant, who had been sent to Detroit, led about 90 Iroquois, Shawnee, and Wyandot warriors to the confluence of the
Great Miami and Ohio rivers. In early August, Clark set out by boat down the Ohio River from
Wheeling intending for Lochry to rendezvous with him en route. Brant realized that he had insufficient men to attack Clark as the expedition floated past, however, learned that Lochry was not far behind. On August 24, Lochry landed his party on the north bank of the Ohio and was
ambushed. 37 Americans were killed including Lochry and 64 were captured. On August 27, Brant rendezvoused with Thompson and Alexander McKee who had brought with him several hundred warriors. Brant, Thompson and McKee set off in pursuit of Clark, however, the combined force dispersed in early September upon learning that Clark had called off his campaign. In August, Caldwell, who had been wounded at Sandusky, led his company and roughly 300 Indigenous auxiliaries across the Ohio River and briefly besieged
Bryan Station. Caldwell retreated as American reinforcements approached but successfully ambushed the pursuing militia at the
Battle of Blue Licks. In September 1782, in one of last military actions of the war, Captain Andrew Bradt's company of Butler's Rangers and roughly 250 Indigenous warriors unsuccessfully
besieged Fort Henry in what is now
Wheeling, West Virginia.
Northwest Indian War News of the
peace treaty between Britain and the United States arrived in Detroit on May 6, 1783. DePeyster, who had recently been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, notified the various Indigenous tribes that Fort Detroit had supported, and began attempts to ransom captives still held by them. 492 American prisoners held by the British at Detroit were sent to Montreal to be repatriated. Although the peace treaty placed Detroit in the territory ceded to the United States, DePeyster received no orders to evacuate the fort. When American Indian commissioners visited Detroit in July 1783 they were treated politely, but no commitments were made to turn over the fort. Following their successes against Lieutenant Colonel
Josiah Harmar in 1790 and Major-General
Arthur St. Clair in 1791, the Northwestern Confederacy was decisively defeated by Major-General
"Mad Anthony" Wayne at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. By the terms of the 1795
Treaty of Greenville, the Confederacy ceded most of the future state of
Ohio and significant portions of what would become the states of
Indiana,
Illinois, and
Michigan including the area encompassing Detroit. On July 11, 1796, under terms negotiated in the
Jay Treaty, the British relinquished Detroit to the Americans, 13 years after the
Treaty of Paris had ended the war. The remaining vestiges of Fort Porchartrain were destroyed in the
Great Fire of 1805. Fort Lernoult and a warehouse on the river were the only structures in Detroit that survived the conflagration. The Americans referred to Fort Lernoult as Fort Detroit until after the War of 1812 when it was renamed Fort Shelby. By 1827 the fort was no longer needed and was demolished. ==Legacy==