The Battle of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, refers to two consecutive engagements during the War of 1812. Fighting between American forces commanded by Brigadier General James Winchester and British and allied forces under Colonel Henry Procter took place on January 18 and 22, 1813, at Frenchtown, Michigan Territory (present-day Monroe, Michigan) on the River Raisin roughly 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Detroit.
On January 18, American militia forced the retreat of a British and Indigenous detachment occupying Frenchtown. The attack was part of a larger plan to retake Detroit following its loss after the siege of Detroit the previous summer. Four days later on January 22, the British and their Indigenous allies launched a surprise counterattack. Ill-prepared, the Americans lost 397 soldiers in this second battle, while 547 were taken prisoner. A number of wounded prisoners were murdered the following morning by a group of Indigenous warriors, while a few other prisoners were killed as they were brought to Fort Amherstburg. The Battle of Frenchtown was the deadliest conflict recorded on Michigan soil, and represents the highest number of Americans killed in a single battle during the War of 1812.
Parts of the original battlefield were designated as a state historic park and added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2009, the United States Congress authorized the creation of the River Raisin National Battlefield Park, one of four such parks in the nation. It is one of only two such parks commemorating the War of 1812, the other one being Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery.
Naming
The Battle of Frenchtown took place in and around the Frenchtown Settlement, founded in 1784 on the River Raisin in the Michigan Territory. The land it was fought on is now incorporated into the city of Monroe. Some sources apply the name only to the encounter on January 22, 1813, and refer to the engagement on January 18 as the First Battle of the River Raisin, or simply as a prelude to the larger encounter on January 22. The plural Battles of Frenchtown is also used for the overall conflict from January 18 through 22. While fighting occurred on January 18, the heaviest fighting took place on January 22. The two battles are also known as the Battle of the River Raisin, because of their proximity to that river.
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 term "River Raisin Massacre" is used to describe the events of January 23, the day after the second battle, when Indigenous warriors killed a number of wounded American prisoners who the British had left behind when they withdrew from Frenchtown.
Background
On August 17, 1812, Brigadier General William Hull, commanding the American Army of the Northwest, surrendered his army, Detroit and the Michigan Territory to the British following the siege of Detroit. This early success encouraged many Indigenous leaders in the Indiana and Illinois territories to side with the British during the war.
Following Hull's defeat, Brigadier General James Winchester assumed command of the Army of the Northwest. He was soon replaced by Major General William Henry Harrison with Winchester as his second-in-command. Winchester was asked to lead 1,200 regulars and militia from Fort Wayne to the Maumee Rapids (present-day Perrysburg, Ohio). Meanwhile, Harrison would assemble additional men and supplies at Upper Sandusky, before joining Winchester at the rapids and advancing on Detroit.
British forces in the Detroit area were commanded by Colonel Henry Procter. In December 1813, Procter's division consisted of 270 men from the 41st Regiment of Foot, 70 men from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 25 artillerymen, and a small support staff. Most were based at Amherstburg, however, 114 men under Captain Adam Muir garrisoned Detroit. Procter could also draw upon men from the Essex militia and the Provincial Marine.
Supporting the British were the Wyandot, Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe who lived in the area. Amherstburg was also home to about 800 Indigenous refugees whose villages had been destroyed by Harrison's forces in September 1812.
First Battle of the River Raisin
On January 10, 1813, Winchester arrived at the Maumee Rapids with roughly 1,300 regulars and Kentucky militia. His orders were to wait at the rapids for Harrison to arrive with reinforcements from Upper Sandusky before advancing on Detroit. On January 13, two residents of Frenchtown, roughly 35 miles (56 km) north of the rapids, arrived with a letter from a local merchant informing Winchester that the British had learned that the Americans were at the rapids. The letter further stated that 3000 barrels of wheat and flour were in storage at Frenchtown. Over the next three days, other habitants from the River Raisin settlement arrived who told Winchester that Frenchtown was occupied by two companies of militia and about 200 Indigenous warriors, but wrongly claimed that the British were preparing to burn down the village.
After meeting with his officers, Winchester decided to send Lieutenant Colonel William Lewis with 570 Kentucky militiamen to Frenchtown. Lewis was later joined by Lieutenant Colonel John Allen with an additional 110 men. Lewis and Allen proceeded to the mouth of the Maumee River, then followed the frozen shoreline of Lake Erie northwards. By mid-afternoon on January 18, Lewis and Allen reached the south side of the River Raisin where a number of the French-speaking habitants of the settlement joined them.
Opposing the Americans, and protected by the settlement's houses, barns and fences, were 50 men of the Essex Militia led by Major Ebenezer Reynolds. The militia was supported by a single 3-inch howitzer and between 100 and 200 Potawatomi and Wyandot warriors.
When Reynolds opened fire with the howitzer, Lewis ordered a charge across the frozen river and into the village. They quickly forced the militia and Indigenous warriors to retreat. According to one source, at this point "the habitants sallied out of their houses, arms in hand, and attacked the straggling Indians." The Essex Militia briefly held their ground at the edge of the woods north of village. An attempt by Lewis to outflank them failed as Reynolds pulled his men into the forest where they engaged in a fighting withdrawal. Many years later Robert Reynolds recalled that his brother's men "fought most bravely, [as they] retired slowly from log to log."
William Atherton, a rifleman in Allen's detachment, published an account of his experiences in 1842. Atherton, who was wounded in the right shoulder during the engagement, described the Essex militia's tactics:
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.
Lewis and Allen continued their pursuit of Reynolds until nightfall, then pulled back to Frenchtown. The Essex militia and Potawatomi had inflicted significant casualties on the Americans. Lewis reported 12 Americans killed and 55 wounded (two fatally). Meanwhile, the Essex militia suffered only a single casualty. Lewis also reported that two militiamen and one Potawatomi had been captured, and that at least 15 warriors had been killed.
North of Frenchtown, two habitants of the Sandy Creek settlement, René LaBeau and Jean-Baptiste Solo, were murdered after Solo taunted the retreating Potowatomi. Two of LaBeau's children ran 2½ miles to Frenchtown, seeking the protection of the American army. Lewis subsequently ordered the Sandy Creek settlement abandoned.
Second Battle of the River Raisin
On January 19, after receiving the news that Frenchtown had been taken, Winchester set out for the River Raisin with 50 militia volunteers and 250 regulars from the 17th and 19th U.S. Infantry, leaving behind a rear guard of 300 men. They reached Frenchtown the following day, increasing Winchester's effective force at the River Raisin to 934 men. Although Winchester had disobeyed his orders, Harrison was pleased with Lewis's success. He immediately set out for the Maumee Rapids with reinforcements, and dispatched a messenger to Winchester ordering him "to hold the ground."
At Amherstburg, Colonel Henry Procter, commander of British forces on the Detroit frontier, learned of Reynolds's defeat in the early hours of January 19. He dispatched a company of the 41st Regiment of Foot, a detachment of the Royal Artillery, and a detachment of the Provincial Marine across the Detroit River to Brownstown where they linked up with Reynolds's men. The following day they were joined by additional men from the 41st Regiment, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment of Fencible Infantry and the Essex Militia. Procter's combined force of 597 men included 335 regulars, 212 militiamen and 19 members of the Indian Department. His artillery consisted of three small howitzers and three 3-pounder guns drawn on sleds and manned by men from the Royal Artillery and Provincial Marine.
About 600 warriors led by the Wyandot war leader Roundhead joined the British at Brownstown. The Indigenous contingent consisted mainly of warriors from the Wyandot, Potawatomi, Odawa, Ojibwe, and Shawnee but representatives of several other tribes were also present.
Winchester established his headquarters at the home of Francois Navarre a mile south of the village. On the evening of January 21, several of the habitants of Frenchtown reported that a large British force was heading towards the settlement. Winchester ignored their warnings and took no precautions, insisting it would be "some days" before the British "would be ready to do anything." He declined to send out patrols or establish pickets. Most of his men were encamped inside the village and protected on three sides by a puncheon fence. The regulars of the 17th and 19th U.S. Infantry, however, were encamped out in the open in a field east of the village.
On January 21, Procter's combined force advanced to Stony Creek about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the River Raisin where they bivouacked overnight. They arrived at Frenchtown before dawn on January 22. He silently deployed his regulars into line about 250 yards (230 m) north of the village. The Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi were loosely clustered on Procter's right, while the Wyandot and Shawnee positioned themselves northeast of the regular's encampment. Procter sent two of his artillery pieces with a militia detachment to a field west the village. He kept one gun in reserve while the other three were positioned to the front of the line. The remaining militia took position near the Wyandot and Shawnee.
As Procter prepared to attack, an American drummer began beating reveille. A sentry posted outside the fence spotted the British and fired his weapon, killing a British soldier. Two other sentries also discharged their weapons. As the Kentucky militia scrambled into position behind the fence, the British artillery opened fire but overshot their targets. The 41st and Royal Newfoundland moved to within musket range, loosed a thunderous volley, then continued advancing on the village. Protected by the puncheon fence, the Kentucky militiamen were largely unscathed, and inflicted heavy casualties as they drove back the British assault.
Meanwhile, the Wyandot, Shawnee and militia attacked the exposed American regulars east of the village. The 17th and 19th U.S. Infantry struggled to hold their position as musket and artillery fire tore through their encampment. Allen led several companies of Kentucky from the village in an unsuccessful attempt to reinforce them. Winchester, who had arrived on the scene with Lewis, ordered Allen and the regulars to fall back to river. An attempt to make a stand failed, and with the Wyandot and Shawnee in pursuit, the Americans began fleeing across the frozen River Raisin. A second futile attempt was made on the south side of the river to hold back the enemy. Winchester, Allen, Lewis were swept up in the ensuing chaos as their men desperately tried to escape.
Chased by the Wyandot and Shawnee, many of the fleeing Americans were overtaken and killed. Dozens who laid down their weapons in surrender were tomahawked and scalped. Those that managed to outrun their pursuers soon found their escape route blocked by the Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe who had swept around from the west and taken position at Plum Creek about a mile south of the River Raisin. Of the roughly 400 Americans that were caught up in the rout, about 220 were killed including Allen, and another 147 were captured. Only 33 managed to escape to the Maumee River.
Winchester and Lewis were captured south of Plum Creek by a group of Wyandot. Winchester was relieved of his sword, pistol, overcoat and cocked hat, then taken to Roundhead. Roundhead took the general's sword and donned his waistcoat, then brought Winchester and Lewis to Proctor.