River Raisin National Battlefield Park
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River Raisin Battlefield Site (20MR227)
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Location within the state of Michigan
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| Location | Monroe, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 41°54′49″N 83°22′42″W / 41.91361°N 83.37833°WCoordinates: 41°54′49″N 83°22′42″W / 41.91361°N 83.37833°W |
| Website | River Raisin National Battlefield Park |
| NRHP Reference # | 82000542 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 10, 1982 |
| Designated NBP | March 30, 2009 |
| Designated MSHS | February 18, 1956 |
The River Raisin National Battlefield Park was established as the 393rd unit of the United States National Park Service under Title VII of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which was signed into law on March 30, 2009. The park is located in the city of Monroe in Monroe County, Michigan. It was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on February 18, 1956 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1982. It officially began operation as a national park unit on October 22, 2010 and, of the four National Battlefield Parks in the country, it is the only one marking a site of the War of 1812.
The area was the site of the costly Battle of Frenchtown, in which 397 Americans were killed and 547 taken prisoner after surrender to the British Army and Indian coalition during the War of 1812. The fighting took place from January 18–23, 1813. The first engagement, sometimes referred to as the “first” Battle of the River Raisin, was a success for the American forces against the British and Indian alliance. Angered by their forced retreat, the British and Native Americans counterattacked the unsuspecting American forces four days later on January 22 in the same location along the River Raisin. Many of the Americans were inexperienced troops from Kentucky; they were ill-prepared and were unable to retreat from the ambush.
During the Battle of Frenchtown, American brigadier general James Winchester reported that only 33 of his approximate 1,000 men escaped the battlefield. 397 were killed, and 547 were taken prisoner, which marked the deadliest conflict ever on Michigan soil and the worst single defeat the Americans suffered in the entire War of 1812. The day after the battle, dozens of defenseless and wounded Americans were killed on January 23 by the Native Americans, mostly Potawatomi, in what is referred to as the River Raisin Massacre. The total casualties among the British and Native American alliance are unknown. Surviving prisoners were forced to march toward Detroit, and those who could not keep up were killed along the way.
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Wikipedia