Battle of Frenchtown

The Battle of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin or the River Raisin Massacre, was a series of conflicts that took place from January 18–23, 1813 during the War of 1812. It was fought between the United States and a British and Native American alliance near the River Raisin in Frenchtown, Michigan Territory (present-day Monroe, Michigan).

On January 18, 1813 the Americans forced the retreat of the British and their Indian allies from Frenchtown, which they had earlier occupied, in a relatively minor skirmish. The encounter was part of a larger plan to advance north and retake Fort Detroit following the loss of the fort in the Siege of Detroit the previous summer. Despite the initial American success, the British and Native Americans rallied and launched a surprise counterattack four days later on January 22. Three hundred ninety-seven Americans were killed in this second battle, while hundreds were taken prisoner and dozens of them killed in a subsequent massacre by Native Americans the following day. It was the deadliest conflict ever fought on Michigan soil, and the casualties included the highest number of Americans killed in a single battle during the War of 1812. Parts of the original battlefield have recently been designated as the River Raisin National Battlefield Park.

Naming
The Battle of Frenchtown is so named because it took place within Frenchtown in the Michigan Territory, although much of the land on which it took place is now incorporated within the city of Monroe. The name is sometimes used to refer solely to the conflict that took place on January 22, 1813, while the conflict that took place on January 18 is sometimes referred to as the First Battle of the River Raisin or as merely a prelude to the larger encounter on January 22. The plural term Battles of Frenchtown is also used to refer to the overall conflict between January 18–22. While the battle began on January 18, the heaviest of fighting took place on January 22 and may have continued for several days.

It is often called the Battle of the River Raisin, because of its proximity to the River Raisin. The engagement may be divided into the First Battle of the River Raisin (January 18) and the Second Battle of the River Raisin (January 22). The name River Raisin Massacre is used for January 23, one day after the surrender, when pro-British Indians murdered dozens of wounded Kentucky volunteers who were too badly injured to march as prisoners.

Background
On August 17, 1812, Brigadier General William Hull, commanding the American Army of the Northwest, surrendered his troops and Fort Detroit to the British following the Siege of Detroit. The British success convinced many Native Americans to side with them. General Hull was later tried by a military court and sentenced to death for his disgraceful conduct at Detroit. However, President James Madison commuted the sentence to dismissal from the army in recognition of Hull’s honorable service during the American Revolution.

At the time, Fort Detroit was an important outpost that could allow the Americans to invade British Upper Canada. Its capture instead allowed British forces to increase their numbers in the Michigan Territory. After the British seized Detroit, the militia around Frenchtown also surrendered and were disarmed. Only 25 mi south of Fort Detroit, the residents of Frenchtown feared threats from the British and Native Americans, who had now occupied the area. The people of Frenchtown urged the American army to regroup to drive the invaders back to Upper Canada.

After Hull's dismissal, Brigadier General James Winchester was given command of the Army of the Northwest. Rather than pushing north to attempt to retake Detroit, Winchester had a lesser agenda, and his unpopularity led to the command of the army being given to Major General William Henry Harrison. Winchester was made second-in-command. Harrison's first plan of action on taking command was to move the army north to recover Detroit. To accomplish this, he divided the army and personally led one column, the second column marching under command of Winchester. Meanwhile, Brigadier General Henry Procter, commanding the British Army around Detroit, had assembled all the British troops in the area, as well as around 500 allied Native Americans under the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. While Tecumseh was present at Frenchtown, he did not participate in the fighting.

First Battle of the River Raisin
James Winchester, the second-in-command of the Army of the Northwest, led a column consisting of approximately 1,000 inexperienced regulars and volunteers, most of whom came from Kentucky. Major General William Henry Harrison had ordered him to remain within supporting distance of Harrison's column near the Maumee River (in present-day Perrysburg, Ohio) about 30 mi south of Frenchtown. Instead, Winchester ignored his orders and sent a small relief detachment north to Frenchtown along the River Raisin.

Lieutenant Colonel William Lewis led these men across the frozen Maumee River and along the coast of Lake Erie to the River Raisin. His force consisted of 667 Kentuckians and about 100 local French-speaking militiamen. On January 18, 1813, Lewis charged across the frozen River Raisin to attack the British and Indian camp, which contained 63 soldiers of the Essex Militia, accompanied by a 3-pounder cannon, and about 200 Potawatomies. A brisk battle took place before the Americans forced the British and their allies to retreat. The Canadians charged the American lines several times, supported by the gunfire of the Indians. Fighting continued sporadically for several hours, with the Canadians and natives fighting log to log after which Lewis reclaimed Frenchtown. Reynolds' brother commented later how the Essex Militia “fought most bravely, retired slowly from log to log.” In fact, the skirmish has been noted as one of a few examples where Canadian militia stood fast without the backing of British regulars during the war. Kentucky Rifleman William Atherton's memoires offer gruesome testimony to how adept the Essex men and natives were at bush fighting, stating “the fight now became very close, and extremely hot ... I received a wound in my right shoulder.” The moment before Atherton was hit he witnessed two of his fellow riflemen move too far forward. One was killed and the other wounded. Atherton described perfectly the tactics used by Reynolds and his men: “Their method was to retreat rapidly until they were out of sight (which was soon the case in the brushy woods) and while we were advancing they were preparing to give us another fire; so we were generally under the necessity of firing upon them as they were retreating.”  Another Kentucky private had similar recollections: “As we advanced they were firing themselves behind logs, trees, etc. to the best advantage.” After a long, bloody and exhaustive withdrawal over two miles of woodland, the Canadians and natives slipped away, leaving Frenchtown to the Kentuckians. This skirmish would later be known as the First Battle of the River Raisin.

During their retreat from Frenchtown, the Native Americans looted the small settlement of Sandy Creek about 2 mi north of the River Raisin, which had been settled in 1780. All 16 houses were burned to the ground, and at least two of the residents were killed. Sandy Creek was never rebuilt.

Second Battle of the River Raisin
Following the recapture of Frenchtown, Brigadier General James Winchester and the rest of his troops met with Colonel Lewis two days later on January 20, 1813. Winchester had acted without orders, but Harrison was pleased with Lewis’s success. However, Harrison was concerned that the British forces might combine and overpower Winchester’s small force. He ordered additional men, including three companies of the 17th U.S. Infantry and one company of the 19th U.S. Infantry, to move to Frenchtown. He then sent a messenger to Winchester to order him to hold the ground and prepare for further combat.

Winchester's soldiers were largely untrained and inexperienced, and the First Battle of the River Raisin was the first combat most had seen. Furthermore, Winchester's planning was poor. Ammunition and other necessary supplies had not been brought forward from the Maumee River. The palisade around the town had not been strengthened, and the regulars of the 17th and 19th U.S. Infantry were camped outside its walls. Several days after the first clash, local residents reported to Winchester that a large British force was heading toward Frenchtown. Winchester ignored their warning, insisting it would be "some days" before the British "would be ready to do anything." His troops were camped throughout Frenchtown. Without ensuring that sentries and pickets had been placed, Winchester retired for the night to his headquarters at the Navarre House south of the town. On hearing that the Americans had recaptured Frenchtown, Brigadier General Henry Procter, commander of the British forces around Detroit, marched with his troops from Fort Malden and crossed the Detroit River from Upper Canada, invading Michigan in strength. His army consisted of 597 regulars from the 41st Regiment of Foot and Royal Newfoundland Fencibles, joined by about 800 Indians. Shawnee leader Tecumseh was in the area, but he was not present at the Battle of Frenchtown. He left command of the Native Americans to Wyandot chiefs Roundhead and Walk-in-the-Water. The Indians included Shawnee, Potawatomi, Ottawa, Chippewa, Delaware, Miami, Winnebago, Creek, Sauk, and Fox tribes. Procter's artillery consisted of six light 3-pounder cannons drawn on sledges, manned by men from the Canadian Provincial Marine. Procter halted about 5 mi north of the River Raisin to prepare for battle on January 21.

Proctor surprised the American forces before sunrise on January 22. A Canadian volunteer, John Richardson, who marched with the 41st Regiment of Foot, later wrote, "On the 22nd, before daybreak, came within sight of the enemy... such was their security and negligence that... our line was actually half formed within musket shot of their defenses before they were even aware of our presence."

The American regulars only stood for twenty minutes. These four companies of regular infantry, consisting mostly of green recruits, were caught in the open; faced with heavy musket volleys to their front while under direct roundshot and canister fire from the six 3-pounders and being flanked by the Essex militia and natives, they broke and fled. General Winchester was awakened by the roar of artillery fire and rushed to the battlefield, sending 240 men from the 1st Kentucky Rifle Regiment along with Col. John Allen to reinforce the regulars. It was to no avail. Under fire from three sides, the American troops fell into a headlong retreat towards Ohio. They attempted to rally three separate times, but were eventually surrounded on a narrow road. Nearly 220 of the 400 Americans had been killed, many of them shot, tomahawked and scalped during their withdrawal. 147, including Winchester were captured by natives and Canadian militia on the way. Chief Roundhead stripped him of his uniform before handing him to the British, which led to the legend that he was captured in his nightshirt. The American were scattered and not in any position to fight. The 17th's colonel, John Allen, was shot dead and scalped. Dozens tried to surrender and laid down their weapons, only to be shot or tomahawked by the Indians. Members of other units also tried to flee, but most were chased down and killed. A few removed their shoes and ran through the snow in their stockings to leave footprints that looked like moccasin and thus managed to escape. The British occupied a large barn, which was set on fire by William Orlando Butler, forcing them from their shelter.

The 1st, 5th Kentucky Rifle Regiments and the 1st Volunteers continued to hold in the town. At the cost of 5 killed and 40 wounded, they had killed or wounded all but 1 member of the gun crews manning the 3 cannon in the center of the British line, 13 of the 16-man howitzer crew, as well as many infantry, but they were finally running out of ammunition after having repulsed three assaults. Winchester was urged by Procter to order his remaining men to surrender; otherwise they would all be killed and Frenchtown burned down. Procter demanded an unconditional surrender and refused Winchester's counter-proposals since Winchester was already his prisoner. Major George Madison, an American officer still on the battlefield, persuaded Procter to accept a surrender on the condition that all would be protected as prisoners of war.

When they saw the British waving a white flag, the Kentucky riflemen thought it meant a call for a truce. Unfortunately, a British officer gave them an order to surrender from General Winchester. They refused and said they would fight to the death rather than trust the Indians, but George Madison issued a formal declaration of surrender after about three more hours of fighting.

The British made several attempts to persuade the Indians to destroy Frenchtown, but the Potawatomi refused to allow this since they had given the land to the settlers and did not wish to inflict more harm on them.

River Raisin Massacre
Immediately following the American surrender, some of the Kentuckians argued with their officers that "they would rather die on the field" than surrender, fearing that their surrender would lead to their eventual deaths anyway at the hands of their captors. However, the fighting ceased immediately following their surrender. At least 300 Americans were initially estimated as killed, and over 500 were taken as prisoners. Procter, unsure of what do with so many prisoners, wanted to make a hasty retreat in case that William Henry Harrison would send more troops to the area once word of Winchester's defeat reached him. The uninjured prisoners were marched north and then across the frozen Detroit River to Fort Malden, but the wounded prisoners unable to walk were left behind at Frenchtown. Procter had to wait another day for sleds to arrive to transport the wounded American prisoners, but he feared that more Americans were on the way from the south.

However, on the morning of January 23, the Native Americans began robbing and pillaging the injured Americans. Any American able to walk was marched away toward Fort Malden, while many of the more severely injured were left behind and simply murdered. The buildings that housed the wounded were set on fire. Those that could escape the burning buildings were murdered as they tried to flee, and those unable to move died in the fires. While the prisoners were marched north toward Detroit, those unable to keep up with the march were murdered as well. An account from a survivor read, "The road was for miles strewed with the mangled bodies." Estimates of the numbers of wounded killed by Native Americans range from 30 to as high as 100.

The needless slaughter of the American wounded, which became known as the River Raisin Massacre, so horrified contemporary Americans that it overshadowed the actual battle and word of it spread throughout the country. The massacre was particularly devastating for the state of Kentucky, which supplied many soldiers that fell during the Battle of Frenchtown and subsequent massacre. The rallying cry "Remember the River Raisin" prompted many Kentuckians to enlist immediately for service in the war.

Aftermath
While it is not known how many soldiers died during the First Battle of the River Raisin on January 18, 1813, official counts list 397 Americans killed and 27 wounded during the January 22 conflict. Also, figures of those that were killed during the subsequent River Raisin Massacre are also unknown but estimates are as high as 100 killed. Two weeks after the battle, Brigadier General James Winchester reported that 547 of his men were taken as prisoners and only 33 escaped the battlefield. Many of those that were held as prisoners were detained at Fort Malden until the end of the war over two years later. Winchester himself was imprisoned for over a year before being released and reassigned to service.

James Winchester largely bore the responsibility for the devastating loss at Frenchtown. His ill-prepared defensive planning following the successful First Battle of the River Raisin led to the defeat of his army and the high number of deaths his column suffered. Had Winchester retreated to the Maumee River to rejoin with William Henry Harrison's column, they could have strengthened their numbers and marched back to Frenchtown with the necessary troops and preparedness to fight the British and Native Americans. Instead, Winchester remained in Frenchtown with his small force despite advanced knowledge of a British and Native American counterattack. He was also unaware that Harrison's troops were on their way and would arrive shortly. During the Second Battle of the River Raisin, Winchester was captured rather early into the battle and surrendered his army at the urging of Henry Procter. While his army suffered heavy losses at the start of the surprise attack, the Kentuckians regrouped and had fought off three waves of British lines to protect their camp, although they were very low on ammunition when the order of surrender came from Winchester. Had the Americans prolonged the battle long enough for Harrison's column to arrive at Frenchtown, the outcome of the battle could have changed.

The British reported that only 24 were killed and 161 wounded, but the Native American casualties are not known to have been documented. Immediately following the battle, Procter, fearing that William Henry Harrison would send more Americans to Frenchtown, made a hasty retreat slightly north to Brownstown. Harrison was forced to call off his winter campaign to retake Detroit, which remained in British hands until an American victory at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813 allowed for the recapture of Detroit. As for Frenchtown, it remained a stronghold for the British until Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson from Kentucky led his cavalry to liberate Frenchtown on September 27, 1813. The retreating British were pushed back into Upper Canada defeated at the Battle of the Thames on October 5.

Three currently active battalions of the Regular Army (1-3 Inf, 2-3 Inf and 4-3 Inf) perpetuate the lineage of the old 17th and 19th Infantry Regiments, both of which had elements in action during fighting at Frenchtown.

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(Kentucky War Memorial Frankfort, KY)]] Nine counties in Kentucky were later named for officers who fought in the Battle of Frenchtown. Of the following list, only Bland Ballard survived the battle.


 * Allen County (after Lieutenant Colonel John Allen)
 * Ballard County (after Major Bland Ballard)
 * Edmonson County (after Captain John Edmonson)
 * Graves County (after Major Benjamin Franklin Graves)
 * Hart County (after Captain Nathaniel G. S. Hart)
 * Hickman County (after Captain Paschal Hickman)
 * McCracken County (after Captain Virgil McCracken)
 * Meade County (after Captain James M. Meade)
 * Simpson County (after Captain John Simpson)

Several streets in Monroe near the battle site have been named in honor of those that fought in the Battle of Frenchtown, including Kentucky Avenue and Winchester Street. To further honor the heroism of those from Kentucky that fought in the Battle of Frenchtown, the state of Michigan erected a monument in downtown Monroe in 1904. The monument is located on the west side of South Monroe Street (M-125) at the corner of 7th Street. Also, on this site lay the unidentified remains of some of the victims who died in the battle and the subsequent massacre. The core area where the battle took place was listed as a Michigan Historic Site on February 18, 1956. The location of the site is bounded by North Dixie Highway, the River Raisin, Detroit Avenue, and Mason Run Creek.

The site was recognized nationally when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1982. The River Raisin National Battlefield Park was signed into law on March 30, 2009 with the passing of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act. Once the park receives the funding necessary for completion, it will be included on the National Park Service as one of only four National Battlefield Parks in the United States.