Battle of Frenchtown

Battles of Frenchtown
Part of the War of 1812
Battle of the River Raisin by Tim Kurtz (River Raisin National Battlefield Park Visitor Center)
Date January 18–23, 1813 Location Frenchtown, Michigan Territory 41°54′49″N 83°22′42″W / 41.91361°N 83.37833°W / 41.91361; -83.37833 (Battle of Frenchtown) Result British and Indigenous victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Wyandot Potawatomi	United States
Commanders and leaders
Henry Procter Roundhead Walk-in-the-Water	James Winchester (POW) George Madison (POW)
Strength
1,397	1,000
Casualties and losses
40 killed 162 wounded 3 captured	410 killed 94+ wounded 547 captured (30–60 of whom were killed in ensuing Indigenous massacre)

The Battle of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, refers to two consecutive engagements in the Michigan Territory during the War of 1812. Fighting between American forces commanded by Brigadier General James Winchester and British and Indigenous forces under Colonel Henry Procter took place on January 18 and January 22, 1813, at Frenchtown (present-day Monroe) 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.^[1][2]

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 and the only one commemorating the War of 1812.^[3][4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

First Battle of the River Raisin

First Battle of the River Raisin
Part of the War of 1812
Date January 18, 1813 Location Frenchtown, Michigan Territory 41°54′49″N 83°22′42″W / 41.91361°N 83.37833°W / 41.91361; -83.37833 (First Battle of the River Raisin) Result American victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Potawatomi	United States
Commanders and leaders
Ebenezer Reynolds	William Lewis John Allen
Strength
100-200 Potawatomi 50 Essex militia	680 Kentucky militia
Casualties and losses
1 militia and 15 Potawatomi killed 2 militia and one Potawatomi captured	12 killed 55 wounded

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 Major General William Henry 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.^[9][11]

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.^[9][12]

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.^[13]

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.^[11] According to one source, at this point "the habitants sallied out of their houses, arms in hand, and attacked the straggling Indians."^[13] 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."^[11]

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.^[14]

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.^[9]

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.^[13]

Second Battle of the River Raisin

Second Battle of the River Raisin
Part of the War of 1812
British political cartoon depicting Roundhead escorting Brigadier General Winchester to Colonel Procter
Date January 22, 1813 Location Frenchtown, Michigan Territory 41°54′49″N 83°22′42″W / 41.91361°N 83.37833°W / 41.91361; -83.37833 (Second Battle of the River Raisin) Result British and Indigenous victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Tecumseh's confederacy	United States
Commanders and leaders
Henry Procter Roundhead Walk-in-the-Water	James Winchester William Lewis John Allen † George Madison
Strength
600 Indigenous 597 British	934 Americans
Casualties and losses
British 24 killed 161 wounded Indigenous Unknown	397 killed 547 captured

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.^[13][15] 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."^[16]

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.^[15] Procter's combined force of 597 men included 335 regulars, 212 militiamen and 19 members of the Indian Department.^[13][17] 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.^[9]

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.^[13]

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.^[16][18]

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.^[9] 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.^[15] 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^[13]

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.^[15][19]

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.^[15][19]

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.^[19]

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.^[13]

Meanwhile, the remainder of the Kentucky militia, now under the command of Major George Madison, continued to hold out behind the puncheon fence, aided by a number of the habitants. Having suffered relatively few casualties, they repulsed two more frontal assaults and succeeded in taking a heavy toll on the British artillery crews and infantry. After the failure of the third frontal assault, Procter ordered his regulars to withdraw and regroup behind a group of farm buildings on the far left. To deny the British the protection of a barn, Ensign William Butler twice ran to the wooden structure to set it on fire. While his clothes were riddled with bullets, he succeeded in destroying the barn and returned unharmed to his lines.^[13]

During a lull in the fighting, Roundtree arrived with Winchester. Procter demanded that Winchester order his men to surrender unconditionally. Winchester argued that he was a prisoner and could not give orders to those still fighting. When Procter suggested that his Indigenous allies would burn the village and kill all within, Winchester agreed to send a letter encouraging the Kentucky militia to surrender. Despite the pleas of some of his men, Madison agreed to capitulate after he had negotiated terms regarding the treatment of prisoners, protection from Britain's Indigenous allies, and the care of the wounded. The alternative, he later wrote, was "to be murdered in cold blood."^[15]

The day following the battle, Winchester reported that the British had taken 522 prisoners with others still in Indigenous hands. A more detailed report two weeks later recorded 397 killed and 547 captured. Procter's forces also sustained heavy losses with 24 killed and 161 wounded. Most of the casualties were from the 41st Regiment with 18 killed and 129 wounded. Indigenous casualties are not known.^[9]

River Raisin Massacre

Immediately after the American surrender, some of the Kentuckians argued with their officers that "they would rather die on the field" than surrender, fearing that they would be killed by their captors. Still, the fighting ceased immediately following their surrender. At least 300 Americans were estimated killed, with over 500 taken prisoner. Procter determined on a hasty retreat in case General Harrison sent more troops when he learned of Winchester's defeat, he marched the uninjured prisoners north and across the frozen Detroit River to Fort Malden; the wounded prisoners unable to walk were left behind at Frenchtown. Procter could have waited another day for sleds to arrive to transport the wounded prisoners, but he worried that more American soldiers were on the way from the south.^[18]

On the morning of January 23, the Native Americans robbed the injured Americans in Frenchtown.^[21][a] Any prisoner who could walk at all was marched toward Fort Malden; those who could not were killed. The Native Americans then set fire to the buildings that housed the wounded.^[23] As the Potawatomi marched prisoners north toward Detroit, they killed any who could not keep up. According to an account from a survivor, "The road was for miles strewed with the mangled bodies." Estimates of the numbers of wounded killed by Indians range from a low of 30 to as many as 100.^[16][1][24]

Medard Labbadie, a resident of the River Raisin area, in his transcribed deposition sent to the US House of Representatives, stated "Those soldiers and citizens able to walk were marched off towards Malden. The wounded, numbering between 60 and 80 were left in two houses without any of their friends or physicians to take care of them and without any British officers or men. About ten Indians remained behind while the balance went off with the British...". However, the following morning "about fifty Indians returned and between 9 and 10 o'clock A.M. commenced killing the wounded, then set fire to the houses that the wounded were in,..."^[25]

Surgeon's mate Gustavus Bower stated in his deposition, “I saw the Indians take off several prisoners whom I afterwards saw in the road, in a most mangled condition, and entirely stripped of their clothing. ... [Private Blythe] whilst in the act of pleading for mercy, an Indian more savage than the other stepped up behind, tomahawked, stripped and scalped him." Bower further stated "While in the midst of marching, the Indians halted some of their prisoners at Sandy Creek, about three miles from the battleground and commenced cooking and eating, when an Indian came up to one Mr. Searls. The Indian proposed exchanging moccasins which was speedily done. They then exchanged hats, after which the Indian inquired how many men General Harrison had with him and at the same time calling Searls a “Washington” or “Madison". The Indian then raised his tomahawk and struck him on the shoulder which cut into the cavity of the body. Searls then caught hold of the tomahawk and appeared to resist and upon my telling that his fate was inevitable, he closed his eyes and received the savage blow which terminated his existence. I was near enough to him to receive the brains and blood, after that fatal blow on my blanket. A short time after the death of Searls, I saw three others share a similar fate.^[26]

The slaughter of the American wounded on January 23 became known as the River Raisin Massacre. It so horrified Americans that it overshadowed the battle, and news of the massacre spread throughout the country.^[27][6] It devastated Kentucky, which had supplied most of the soldiers for the campaign. Kentucky lost many of its leading citizens in either the battle or the subsequent massacre. The rallying cry "Remember the River Raisin" or "Remember the Raisin!" led many more Kentuckians to enlist for the war.^[18]

Aftermath

While it is not known how many soldiers died during the First Battle of the River Raisin on January 18, 1813, Eaton's Compilation^[2] lists 397 Americans killed and 27 wounded during the January 22 conflict. Also, figures for those who were killed during the subsequent River Raisin Massacre are uncertain, but estimates are as high as 100 killed.^{[citation needed]} Two weeks after the battle, Winchester reported that 547 of his men were taken as prisoners and only 33 escaped the battlefield. Winchester was imprisoned for more than a year before being released and reassigned to military service.^[24]

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 suffered by his column. If Winchester had retreated to the Maumee River to rejoin with General Harrison's column, the two could have strengthened their numbers and marched back to Frenchtown with the necessary troops and preparedness to fight the British and Native Americans.^[1] Instead, Winchester remained in Frenchtown with his small force despite advanced knowledge of a British and Native American counterattack. He was unaware that Harrison's troops were on their way and would arrive shortly.

During the Second Battle of the River Raisin, Winchester was captured early in the battle and surrendered his army at Procter's urging. While Winchester's army suffered heavy losses at the start of the surprise attack, the Kentuckians regrouped and fought off three waves of British lines to protect their camp. They were very low on ammunition when the order of surrender came from Winchester. If the Americans had prolonged the battle long enough for Harrison's column to arrive at Frenchtown, the outcome of the battle could have changed.^[28] The British reported casualties of 24 killed and 161 wounded; Native American casualties are not known to have been documented.

Immediately following the battle, Procter, fearing that Harrison would send more American troops to Frenchtown, made a hasty retreat slightly north to Brownstown. Harrison was forced to call off his plans for a winter campaign to retake Detroit. The city was held by the British until the American victory at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10 resulted in the Americans retaking Detroit. Frenchtown remained under British occupation until Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson, leading a force of Kentucky cavalry, recaptured the town on September 27. Procter continued to retreat with his army and Native American allies to Upper Canada until they were defeated at the Battle of the Thames on October 5.^[28] Three 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.

Legacy and honors

Nine counties in Kentucky are named for officers who fought in the Battle of Frenchtown, only one of who, Major Bland Ballard survived the engagement:^[29][30]

• 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 (soldier))
• Hart County (after Captain Nathaniel G. S. Hart|Nathaniel Hart)
• Hickman County (after Captain Paschal Hickman)
• McCracken County (after Captain Phil McCracken)
• Meade County (after Captain James M. Meade)
• Simpson County (after Captain John Simpson)

A number of streets in Monroe memorialize the Battle of Frenchtown, including Kentucky Avenue and Winchester Street.

The Kentucky War Memorial in Frankfort, Kentucky records the names of 12 of the American officers who died at the Battle of Frenchtown.^[31]

In 1904, the state of Michigan erected a monument in Monroe south of the river to mark the site where the unidentified remains of victims of the River Raisin Massacre were buried. The monument is located at the intersection of South Monroe Street and West 7th Street.^[32][33] That same year, the Civil Improvement Society of the Women of Monroe erected an obelisk north of the river to mark the site of the battle. This marker mistakenly states that the Americans "fought desperately against 3000 British and Allies under Gen. Proctor."^[34][35]

The battlefield was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In March 2009, the United States Congress authorized the creation of River Raisin National Battlefield Park. The park became operational in October 2010. It is one of only four National Battlefield Parks in the United States, and the only one to commemorate the War of 1812.^[36]

• 
  This obelisk, located in River Raisin National Battlefield Park, commemorates the victims of the battle and subsequent massacre.
• 
  This monument south of the River Raisin commemorates the Kentuckians who died in the battle.

Notes

References

External links

• Official battlefield site
• Description of the battle at the city of Monroe website
• River Raisin Battlefield brochure