The Siege of Fort Detroit & Slaughter At Devil’s Hole

Seneca Scouts portrayed by Robert W. Griffing.

Episode 3 of the Pontiac’s War series of The Frontier Partisans Podcast. You can access it here or on Spotify or on most other podcasting services.

This episode covers the Siege of Fort Detroit and the Battle of Bloody Run, a sharp, bitter firefight that erupted when a British force attempted to storm Pontiac’s camp two miles from the fort.

Gary Zaboly’s depiction of the action during the Battle of Bloody Run outside Fort Detroit on July 31, 1763.

We also cover the slaughter at Devil’s Hole on the Niagara Portage on the other end of Lake Erie on September 14, 1763. That debacle, brought down on British arms by the Genessee Seneca, was the costliest in terms of lives lost for the British in the whole war. The Senecas attacked freight wagons on the portage road, then ambushed a British Light Infantry force that responded. Many were killed leaping or being forced over cliffs in the exceedingly steep and rugged terrain, which is now part of a state park and a draw for hikers.

I had thought we’d make it to the brutal action in the Pennsylvania backcountry in this episode, but I decided to treat that theater of war in its own episode.