August 5th, 1763 - The Battle of Bushy Run

Conflict: Pontiac's War

Combatants: British vs. Ottawa

Location: Pennsylvania

Outcome: British victory

Angered by new British control over the American northwest and the influx of European settlers, the Ottawa, led by Pontiac, launched a series of attacks against the Crown's forts west of the Niagara. Ambushed by the Ottawa while enroute to relieve Fort Pitt, 500 Royal American and support troops took defensive positions overnight and, the following morning, routed the enemy with a flank attack. Pontiac would submit to the authority of the British later in the year.

The Battle of Bushy Run by Charles William Jefferys

Points of Interest:

• Although, Pontiac's warriors failed to take Fort Pitt, they destroyed every other British fort west of the Niagara.

• After the defeat at Bushy Run, Pontiac abandoned the Ottawa siege of Detroit.

Chief Pontiac by John Mix Stanley

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.