River Raisin National Battlefield
Living History reenactors at River Raisin Battlefield. Courtesy National Park Service.
Associate Pages
Visitor Statistics
240,556 visitors
River Raisin National Battlefield.
#181 Most Visited National Park Unit
Source: NPS, Rank among 398 National Park Units 2024.
Park Size
42 acres (Federal); 42 acres (Total)Park Fees
Free
Fees subject to change without notice.
Photo above: Wayside explaining the battles at River Raisin National Battlefield, 2010, Notoriousforlife. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Right: Painting of Frenchtown, the town on the banks of River Raisin, Tim Kurtz. Courtesy National Park Service.
River Raisin National Battlefield
River Raisin National Battlefield where two battles, in January 1813, with opposite victors, first by the Americans who pushed the British out of Frenchtown on fear of its destruction, and the second, a surprising counterattack by Great Britain and its Native American allies that would lead, one day later, to a massacre of prisoners by Native American allies of the British and the call Remember the Raisin. Impact after war led to removal of native tribes from east of the Mississippi River.
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River Raisin Then
To start a history article about the River Raisin, you have to acknowledge that its importance began long before the battles of the War of 1812. This land in Michigan was home to various tribes who used the River Raisin to travel between various points. This included the Potawatomi and Wyandot, but nearly a dozen could claim the territory of lower Michigan up to Detroit as their homeland, and would protect it when French settlers began to arrive in the 1780's to establish farms near Frenchtown. For the next thirty years, there were various incidents as the United States came to power and developed its government. One of which, with various Indian allies on each side, was that Great Britain did not recognize the same boundaries as the American Nation in their Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution. Thus all of these influences and incidents began to come to a head.
1808 - "... if we are constrained to lift the hatchet against any tribe, we will never lay it down till that tribe is exterminated, or driven beyond the Mississippi," forecasted Thomas Jefferson.
1810 - "... the only way to stop this evil, is for all the red men to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land as it was at first, and should be now for it never was divided, but belongs to all… Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the clouds and the great sea, as well as the earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?" stated Shawnee chief Tecumseh.
1812 - " ... we and our children are not to be allowed to live on this land more than fifty years… This is not according to the promises… we expect you will not turn us off of our lands at Brownstown and Menguagon aforesaid... Should you grant our wishes as above, we will undertake to keep open, and maintain the good order, all the roads and bridges which may be required on this land, by existing laws, going from Detroit to river Raisin," Wyandot tribe to the President.
June 18, 1812 - The United States declared War on Great Britain.
Photo above: Reenactors of the American Army marching at River Raisin Battlefield. Courtesy National Park Service. Below: A frozen River Raisin today. Courtesy National Park Service.
Minute Walk in History
Enlighten your history knowledge with this War of 1812 battle along the River Raisin south of Detroit, Michigan, that saw two battles followed by an Indian massacre of wounded American prisoners. With video from the National Park Service, learn how these battles would lead to the eventual removal of native tribes from lands east of the Mississippi River.
River Raisin Now
The park is open daily, as well as the new Visitor Center. Park hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but is closed on certain holidays. The battlefield has only been open as a National Monument since 2010, so although it has some history for itself, the main history is that surrounding the multiple tribes that inhabited the area and their interaction with the French settlers that came to the riverfront of River Raisin, i.e. Frenchtown.
The focus of the park as a battlefield, of course, must center on the two battles that occurred here, plus the massacre that proceeded them. It may have been less than a week from the first battle pushing the British/Canadian forces out of Frenchtown on January 18, 1813, to the second battle by British and Native Allies to overrun the settlement and American troops on January 22, 1813, in an unexpected attack. One day later, Native American troops would seek revenge on settler attacks in the past by a massacre of prisoners of war who could not walk. Not good on any account.
Associated with the park is the River Raisin Heritage Trail, with an eight mile biking or hiking tour on paved surfaces that take you to various historic sites associated with the battlefield and the close by surrounding area, including the path along River Raisin itself, Sterling State Park and Munson Park, plus historic landmarks in downtown Monroe, Michigan.
There is also a driving tour that takes you further into the history of thirty sites, Native American and French settlement. Ask for the brochure, "River Raisin National Battlefield Park, Great Lakes Theater of the War of 1812; Journey Towards Understanding."
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River Raisin National Battlefield T-Shirts and Souvenirs.
River Raisin National Battlefield
Things You Should Not Miss
1. For us, there are three parts of a visit to River Raisin and the surrounding area. First, go to the new Visitor Center to get oriented, watch the film, and find out if any Ranger guided tours are available. There is a self-guided tour of specific places around the forty-two acre park, if no guided tours are available.
2. If you have the ability to walk eight miles, take the River Ranger Heritage Trail. You'll follow the park, the river, and to historic sites in Monroe. You can walk, bike, and skate your way there and back.
3. Go on the drive, Journey Towards Understanding. This will take a good part of your day as you visit thirty historic sites around the region that talk about the War of 1812 battles and the toll it took on the settlers, tribes, and armies, both during the war, and its impact after the war.
Photo above: Obelist at River Raisin National Battlefield honoring those that fought in the battles, 2010, Notoriousforlife. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons.
Visitor FAQ
What's There Now
River Raisin National Battlefield
Although the River Raisin site is small in size, there is the Heritage Trail to walk, a new Visitor Center to visit with a diorama of the Frenchtown settlement, plus orientation, Ranger guided walks during the summer, and on some other days, including the anniversary dates. A new film, "The Untold Legacy of the River Raisin," plays in the theater, and there is a gift shop.
As of 2023, there are also new exhibits on topics of the surrounding area; the Old Northwest Territory, Great Lakes History, Native American History, and the timeline of French settlements established from the Canadian border and throughout Michigan.
Photo Above: Summer scene at River Raisin National Battlefield, 2010, Notoriousforlife. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Below: Winter scene at River Raisin National Battlefield. Courtesy National Park Service.
The Battles
January 18, 1813 - First Battle
Detroit had been lost to the British in August 1812 with President James Madison annointing General William Henry Harrison in charge of the Army of the Northwest Territory; General James Winchester would be his second. By early 1813, Harrison and Winchester had split their forces with Winchester heading west to the Maumee River Rapids. There, he heard of British and Canadian troops threatening the citizens of Frenchtown, perhaps burning it from existence, so he sent a detachment under Colonel Lewis to attack the British there. The attack succeeded on January 18, pushing the British troops out of town. General Winchester arrived with additional forces, four hundred and fifty men, two days later. He did not expect the British to attack again.
January 22, 1813 - Second Battle
This laxity would be met on January 22 by a vicious attack by the British and over a dozen tribes of Native allies. It was something General Harrison had been concerned about. Even when word from Harrison reached Winchester, he took the warning and held off preparation, not thinking that such attack would occur for days. While his troops were headquartered within the French settlement, or to the east of town, General Winchester, with the gunpowder supply, was headquartered south of River Raisin. The British were marching with 597 British troops and 800 Native warriors under the command of Colonel Henry Proctor (British) and Wyandot Chiefs Roundtree and Walk-in-the-Water. Tecumseh was not present, but the British brought six small cannons.
The attack occurred prior to sunrise with the road to the north unguarded by Winchester's troops. The British and their allies quickly made short work of the American troops; within twenty minutes they had been pushed to a fencerow near the river with almost the entire town surrounded by British aligned Native forces. Winchester woke far from the battle and arrived too late to rally his troops; he was captured. Kentucky forces held their ground for three assaults, but were ordered to retreat. They protested, but gave in to Winchester's orders, after Colonel Proctor guaranteed their safety as prisoners.
Photo above: Montage (left) General Winchester of the American forces, 1817, Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. (right) General Proctor of the British Army, unknown date, J.C.H. Forster. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons.
The River Raisin Massacre
The promise by British General Proctor would not be kept. He had stated that the Indian allies were unmanageable, although he also stated that he would send sleighs to transport the sixty men who could not walk and were housed in two homes over the coming days. On January 23, 1813, the sixty prisoners, including two doctors, Dr. John Todd and Dr. Gustave Bower, saw no sleighs, but were approached by two hundred Indians at 10 a.m. They stated that the prisoners would be killed. The subsequent massacre occurred, either inside the two homes, or as the wounded attempted to leave. As some were taken prisoner and attempted to walk to Fort Walden, they were butchered as well. The exact number of killed is not known, but could reach toward forty.
Even though the warriors were seeking revenge for those killed the day before, and long before that, the massacre lit a fire under American troops through the rest of the War of 1812. The cry, "Remember the Raisin," pushed regiments and militias in many battles. After the war, the Massacre was used as rationale, already stated by President Jefferson in 1808, the the tribes would be defeated and/or moved west of the Mississippi River. This, in many ways, became the legacy of the battles and massacre at River Raisin.
Photo above: Engraving of the River Raisin Massacre, unknown date, Wikipedia Commons, American Battlefields Trust.
