Most people would probably equate Indian wars as a strictly Old West phenomenom, but in reality this sort of thing goes all the way back to Colonial America.
By the mid 18th century the two dominating European countries on the North American continent were France and Great Britain, and as both a nations were expanding their interests it was inevitable that "turf wars" over land and waterways would arise. These conflicts eventually culminated in The Seven Year War, more commonly known as the French and Indian War, which went from 1754 to 1763.
Fort William Henry, built in 1755, was a British stronghold near Lake George, in what is now modern day upstate New York. On March 18, 1757, the Fort came under attack by French forces who were detected moving across the ice. They were fired on by the fort's cannons and were soon forced to retreat by a heavy snowstorm. The following summer the French again decided to attach Fort William Henry. Led by the Marquis de Montcalm, the French forces included 5400 men, accompanied by over 1600 Indian allies. The cannons were again fired, but the French and their Indian allies, who greatly outnumbered the British, dug trenches and and laid siege, while each day they advanced closer to the fort walls. The fort commander, Colonel Munro, stubbornly resisted as he tried to fend off the French with cannons, but they soon began to crack from the strain of heavy use while the reinforcements he sent for never came. Once the French were within 150 feet of the fort walls Munro knew he had no alternative but to meet with Montcalm and discuss the terms of their surrender.
The French were surprisingly generous, allowing the British to take their colors and a small brass cannon south to Fort Edward. However, what should have been a simple, peaceful surrender went horribly wrong. The Indians, thinking they had somehow been betrayed by the French, looted the fort as they butchered and scalped the sick and wounded who had been left behind. The following day they attacked the British, who were still moving south, along with their women and children. While the exact number of casualties may never be known, most modern historians believe that 200 people were killed, with some 400 taken prisoner. The French were able to immediately rescue some of the prisoners while others would not be released for several years. Others, presumed killed or captured, managed to escape into the woods and made it on their own to Fort Edward. The French eventually regained control and got the remaining forces halfway to Fort Edward, where they were turned over to the British.
The French returned to Fort William Henry and burned what remained of it. It is said that when they returned that fall to harvest the remaining vegetables the stench of rotting flesh was still in the air for miles around the fort site. Eventually the area was reclaimed by nature, where it would remain undisturbed until two centuries later, when a replica fort; a museum housing artifacts from the original, was built at the site of the original Fort William Henry.