2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
From the January American Battlefield Trust 2023 calendar.
JANUARY 8, 1815
** Battle of New Orleans, Louisiana
JANUARY 9, 1813
** Great Britain declares war on the United States. (The U.S, declared war in June 1812.)
JANUARY 13, 1813
** John Armstrong replaces William Eustis as Secretary of War.
JANUARY 18, 1813
** American forces seize Frenchtown, Michigan Terrirory.
JANUARY 22, 1813
** The Battle of River Raisin; roughjly 40 to 60 American soldiers are killed in what became kniown as "The River Raisin Massacre."
--Brock-Perry
This deliberateness of behavior from the Indians did not diminish, and perhaps intensified, the horror many survivors later described. Indeed, the most vivid recollections related to to the systematic nature of the killings and treatment of the remains.
The battle ended in what was described as a "national calamity" by Major General, and later president of the United States, William Henry Harrison.
It also left an impact on the broader American consciousness. The Americans who pushed north to liberate Detroit went to destroying the British-Canadian-Indian coalition in the west at the Battle of the Thames, near present-day Chatham, Ontario, on October 5, 1813.
Fueled by the battle cry, "Remember the Raisin!" their massive victory sealed the War of 1812 in the western theater for the United States, claimed the life of the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh, and resulted in the end the American Indian Confederation.
In an even broader sense, the aftermath of these battles resulted in the implementation of the U.S. policy of Indian removal from the Northwest Territory at the conclusion of the War of 1812, leading to the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a policy that continues to resonate today.
--Brock-Perry
As Dr. Gustavus Bower later described what transpired with the Indians: "They did not molest any person or thing upon their first approach, but kept sauntering about until there were a large number collected (one or two hundred) at which time they began plundering the houses of the inhabitants and the massacre of the wounded prisoners."
Even then, the killings followed a method that -- however brutal -- might be described as utilitarian. The wounded who could nottravel were the primary victims, and they were killed swiftly. The looting, the taking of able-bodied and the burning of buildings and structures were done methodically -- Dr. John Todd, a surgeon with the Kentucky 5th Regiment Volunteer Militia later described these actions as a kind of "orderly conduct."
(By the way, seeing the name John Todd in the paragraph above and him being from Kentucky, I had to wonder if this man might be related to Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. He was. He was her uncle. Small world. For more on him in the War of 1812 click on the label below.)
(I am taking these last two paragraphs directly from the article and have a hard time accepting them. There is no such a thing as a utilitarian or orderly conduct massacre.)
A Massacre Is a Massacre. --Brock-Perry
An attempt was made to send a few companies of Kentucky militiamen to the aid of the 17th Infantry, but the effort proved disastrous.
General Winchester, arriving from his headquarters, ordered the infantrymen to fall back to the north bank of the river where they they could rendezvous with the Kentuckians. Together they made a brief stand, but were soon overwhelmed by the pursuing Canadian, Wyandot and Shawnee fighters.
After a frantic retreat to the south side of the river and another futile stand, the American position disintegrated entirely. Within 20 minutes, about 220 U.S. soldiers were killed and another 147 captured. Only 33 American Regulars managed to escape to the Maumee River.
Bit the actions east and south of Frenchtown barely registered for the British Regulars and Kentuckians still entrenched behind that puncheon fence line.
Instead, they remained locked in what seemed to be the main battle area.
--Brock-Perry
Well, that line of "soldiers" that the British saw in the early morning hours proved to be that PUNCHEON FENCE thing. And the Kentuckians, who were behind it delivered a withering fire on them from relative protection.
Meanwhile, the British artillery was overshooting the mark. The British suffered many casualties in this part of the battlefield.
Matters, however, were different on the eastern part of the battlefield. The Canadian militia men quickly adjusted the aim of their artillery and wreaked havoc on the exposed position of the U.S. 17th Infantry.
As cannon fire tore through the encampment and shattered breastworks, the Regulars also had to contend with militiamen and Wyandot fighters who had taken possession of some nearby buidings from which they could fire at will into the American encampment.
The Americans struggled to hold their ground, but eventually faltered when mounted warriors came around their right flank.
--Brock-Perry
In "the woods the fighting became general and most obstinate," wrote one Kentuckian. "[T]he enemy resisting every inch of ground as they were compelled to fall back."
Over the course of two miles the slow-moving battle continued until darkness fell, with the retreating forces taking cover to fire on the pursuing Kentuckians, then dashing to another protected area before the pursuers could regroup or return accurate fire.
The victorious Kentucky Volunteers set up camp within the protection of the puncheon fence and the French habitant homes. Upon word that the area was liberated, Winchester assembled four additional companies and proceeded to the River Raisin on January 20, 1813, bringing the number of American troops close to 1,000.
Upon arriving, the 17th Infantry set up camp 200-300 yards outside the puncheon fence line in the bitter cold and deep snow. Meanwhile, the British and Native warriors prepared a counterattack across the frozen Lake Erie at Fort Amhurstburg in Canada.
--Brock-Perry
The British and their Native allies were able to secure firm control over much of the Old Northwest as they pushed the frontier back to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Upon liberating Fort Wayne, Major General William Henry Harrison soon turned his sights on coordinating efforts to recapture Detroit. He established a base at the Maumee Rapids, south of present-day Toledo, Ohio.
In January 1813, these American forces were assembling for a winter campaign to retake Detroit. American Revolution war veteran Brigadier General James Winchester, an early arrival, received a request from River Raisin settlers to lift British control of their community.
Winchester dispatched more than 550 men from the 1st and 5th Kentucky Volunteer Regiments, under the command of Colonels William Lewis and John Allen to the River Raisin.
Once there, American efforts to outflank allied Canadian militiamen and Confederacy warriors proved unsuccessful, and the fighting dissolved into a series of fierce skirmishes through the dense woods to the north.
--Brock-Perry
Tecumseh's 1811 diplomatic mission among the various Indian tribes rallied the Upper Creeks, but most of the southern tribes rejected it. As a result, most of his efforts remained centered in the Old Northwest, where he drew together the Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, Potawatomi, Wyandot, Kickapoo, Saulk, Meskwaki, Ottawa and Ojibwe.
To Tecumseh, the Americans were set on domination of the continent and the Indians were in the wat and must be removed.
William Henry Harrison's victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe might have ended the Indian conflict, but it didn't. He was sure of it, but was very wrong about it. Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet, regrouped their people around a powerful ally, Britain, America's opponent in the approaching maritime war.
Again, Tecumseh's aspirations were frustrated by circumstance. Still hoping for an Indian confederacy, Tecumseh found his hand forced by the War of 1812.
For the next three years, the incomplete Indian alliance challenged American armies across the Native homelands. They pummeled the Americans at the River Raisin, took Fort Dearborn (Chicago), chased settlers out of the borderlands, and orchestrated a three-pronged offensive against the remaining American forts.
--Brock-Perry
