Anniversary of the River Raisin Massacre: 'Remember the Raisin'

From The Press (Toledo, Ohio)

JANUARY 22, 1813

The River Raisin Massacre takes place near Frenchtown Township in Michigan (Near Monroe).

Hundreds of American troops under the command of General Winchester are killed by the British and Indians.  The attack is led by Chief Tecumseh and the it became a rallying cry for American troops for the rest of the war.

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I'm not so sure that hundreds of American soldiers were massacred.  After Winchester's surrender to the British, Americans were taken by them and some sixty of the worst wounded were left behind.  When the Indians came on the 22nd, those that could travel were taken and those that couldn't were put to the tomahawk.

The cry "Remember the Raisin" was heard after this.

--Brock-Perry

Horrors of the River Raisin-- Part 8: Things Going Better for the Kentuckians

Over the course of two hours, the British regrouped and made two more frontal assaults, but the Kentuckians position was too strong --  British losses were perhaps four times greater than those suffered by the entrenched Kentuckians --  you know, being that puncheon fence they were behind.

As the British pulled back and evaluated their seemingly weakening situation, they received word about what was going on elsewhere on the battlefield.

American General James Winchester, now a prisoner of war and unable to give orders to those still engaged, arrived in the area.  When told that his men would otherwise be burned out of their position and attacked by a much larger force of Indians, he agreed to send a message encouraging the Kentuckians to surrender.

When they received this message, the Kentuckians balked, feeling that they could still carry the day.  As Private Elias Darnell later recalled, "Some plead[ed]  with officers not to surrender, saying they would rather die on the field."

--Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Cry-- Part 4: The Fight

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

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Call-- Part 3: Efforts to Recapture Detroit

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

Harrison Takes Charge In Ohio-- Part 1: Rebuilding the Army of the Northwest at Franklinton

From Touring Ohio; The Heart of America site.

After the loss of Fort Detroit and Detroit by William  Hull General James Winchester became commander of what was left of the Army of the Northwest.  he offered William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory a rank in his army as a brigadier general, but Harrison wanted complete command of the army and refused.

When the president learned that Harrison wanted the command, he immediately removed Winchester and on September 17, 1812, Harrison assumed command of the Army.

Just a few months before war was declared, Columbus had been named the new capital of Ohio.  When Harrison arrived in Central Ohio in mid 1812, there was no question where he'd set up his headquarters.  It would be at Franklinton, across the river from Columbus.

With Hull's defeat and the capture of most of the Army of the Northwest, Harrison's first order of business was to get new recruits and rebuild the army.  Then he had defensive positions put up across northwest Ohio to stop or at least slow down any British advances.

--Brock-Perry

Leslie Combs War of 1812 Service-- Part 1: At River Raisin and Relief of Fort Meigs

Same Source as previous post.

During the War of 1812, Leslie Combs, age 19 "distinguished himself by his courage and gallantry.

In the campaign that ended  at the Raisin, he was sent by General Winchester with a dispatch to General Harrison and went through the wilderness through snow and water for 100 miles under conditions that almost cost him his life.

In 1813 he was commissioned as a Captain of Scouts and was attached to the force of General Green Clay, which had been ordered to the  relief of Fort Meigs.  Captain Combs "volunteered with the aid of an Indian guide and four men to carry news  of Clay's approach to General Harrison."

"He succeeded in threading his perilous way through the swamps of hostile savages and had arrived in sight  of the closely invested Fort, where he was attacked by Indians, one of his men killed , another wounded, he and the rest escaped back to Fort Defiance."

--Brock-Perry

1872 Reunion-- Part 17: Welcome Kentuckians!!

"Welcome to you of Kentucky, who in our day and youth, baptized as the 'dark and bloody ground,' from savage cruelty....  Welcome and thank God that you are permitted to pass over the river of the Ohio no longer a vexed and fettered  boundary of the institutions social, domestic, or municipal antagonistic to Christianity, and that where you encountered in your early march the wild forest and still wilder savage, flourishing towns and cities and fruitful fields delight to meet and welcome you.

"The lonely line of the Hull Road is to-day a great highway of travel and one succession of fertile farms.  The seat of Winchester's camp is there before you; behold its spires, its towers, its broad fields and busy life.All around you in earnest devotion behold its generous people."

The mayor was talking about slavery, Indians and Winchester's camp was Monroe, Michigan.

--Brock-Perry

1872 War of 1812 Reunion-- Part 4: A Shower of Bouquets Fell Everywhere

As the procession reached the Monroe street cemetery, where the Kentuckians who fell at the battle of the River Raisin are buried, it halted, the bands played a dirge, the flags were drooped, the military came to "shoulder arms,"  the Knights Templar made the "salute" of their order, and the veterans and civilians generally uncovered.

The grandstand was erected with the timbers, planks and boards from the recent residence of Dr. A.I. Sawyer, which was the building that General Winchester had his headquarters at the time of the celebrated battle and massacre of the Raisin, January 1813.

The Hon. Warner Wing, President of the Day, opened the ceremonies with a welcome.

General Custer called the roll of veterans and each rose from his sear as his name was called  When the name of Frederick Boroff was called, who resided in Bedford, Monroe County, and his age announced, (101 years and 6 months) calls were made from all parts of the crowd that he should show himself; and as the old veteran, comparatively smart, climbed upon his seat, three hearty cheers were given him, and a shower of bouquets began to fall around and among the veterans, and on the speakers platform, from the ladies of the orchestra, until it seemed that the veteran soldiers were fairly covered in flowers.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Jennings in Ohio-- Part 3: "Unpleassant, Uninteresting" Life at the Fort

The men of the 2nd Kentucky Volunteer Militia camped in tents during the fort's construction.

On October 1, U.S. General William Henry Harrison and several regiments numbering 3,000 men spent a night at the new fort, still under construction,  while advancing to assist General Winchester at Fort Defiance.  In mid-October, William Jennings and his regiment, now under Winchester's command, completed the fort.

It was named in honor of Colonel William Jennings.  A major role of the fort was to serve as a supply center.  Life at the fort on garrison duty was routine and monotonous.

One member of the regiment wrote:  "We had the same unpleasant, uninteresting round of escorting convoys and provisions etc. in advance of us."

--Brock-Perry

Tennessee in the War of 1812-- Part 7: Tennesseans Who Played Roles in the War

In addition to Andrew Jackson, several Tennesseeans played vital roles in the War of 1812.

Congressman Felix Grundy was one of the principal "War Hawk," who were mostly Congressmen from the South and West, who pressed the government for a declaration of war.  I often drive through Grundy County, Illinois, and its county seat, Morris.  It was named for Felix Grundy when he was attorney general of the United States.

James Winchester, a resident of Sumner County, was commissioned a brigadier general and led an unsuccessful invasion of Canada.

Edmund Pendleton Gaines, an East Tennesseean, rose to the rank of major general for his role in defeating the British at Fort Erie in 1814.

Sam Houston and Davy Crockett, future legendary heroes, played minor roles in the war against the Creeks.

--Brock-Perry

A Frontier In Flames-- Part 14: The Raisin River Massacre

Henry Proctor left between 60 and 80 badly wounded Americans and took the rest of his prisoners back to Detroit.

What happened next is known as the Raisin River Massacre.    A group of warriors returned to Frenchtown and killed and scalped at least 30 of the wounded soldiers and took others away as prisoners.  Some of the Americans escaped and made their way to Harrison's Army.

The Raisin River massacre was another major defeat for the United States in the Northwest.  At the end of 1812, the British and their allies had taken control of previously American territory in Michigan, Illinois, northern Indiana and northwestern Ohio.

--Brock-Perry

A Frontier in Flames-- Part 13: The Battle of Frenchtown

Instead of waiting for Harrison, however, James Winchester marched on Frenchtown after refugees from the town begged him to drive off the British.  Winchester's smaller force of about 850 men routed Proctor's army in the initial phase of the battle, but did not take precautions for counter attack.

It soon came.

Proctor's force then overwhelmed the Americans and captured Winchester.  Believing that further resistance would lead to a massacre of prisoners, Winchester then surrendered.

Though victorious, Proctor had lost nearly a third of his force and decided to abandon Frenchtown.

--Brock-Perry

A Frontier in Flames-- Part 12: Events Leading to the Raisin River Massacre

The fall of Detroit and Dearborn Massacre outraged America.  Seeking revenge, in late 1812, William Henry Harrison led a 9,000-man army through Indiana to recapture Fort Detroit.  A smaller, second American force was led by James Winchester was supposed to meet Harrison at the Maumee River near the border of Indiana and Michigan.

Colonel Henry Proctor had replaced General Brock, who had been killed at the Battle of Queenstown Heights, as commander of the British forces.  Rather than to allow Harrison to reach Detroit, Procter took an army of about 1,100 regulars, militia and American Indians south.

They captured Frenchtown (now Monroe, Michigan), on the Raisin River and dug in to await the Americans.

--Brock-Perry

The War in Real Time, Feb. 9, 1813-- Part 2: Reporting the Battle of River Raisin

From the War of 1812 Blog.  New York City.

FROM ALBANY, Feb. 4  "Governor Tompkins has just received the following extract of a letter from Major Noon, commanding at Buffalo, of the defeat of Gen. Winchester of the North-Western Army.  It is reported that Gen. Winchester is among the slain."


"Buffalo, Feb. 3-- It is with extreme pain I inform you, that on Saturday last a flag came across from the British side with Capt. Fitzgerald of the 49th reg. informing the commanding officer on our side that General Winchester, and about 1,000 men, were killed and taken prisoners at the Miami Rapids, that is a dear bought victory for the British.  He adds, that 600 of our men were killed, and 400 taken prisoners."

Brock-Perry

The State of the War February 19, 1813-- Part 2

From the Feb. 19, 1813, Raleigh (NC) Register.

News from Washington, DC from Feb. 13th.

**  Several letters from Buffalo report that General Winchester was not killed at the Battle of the River Raisin as previously reported from Ohio, but had been taken prisoner.

Letters from General William Henry Harrison to Ohio Governor Meigs "giving a much more cheering account of the late disaster (River Raisin) say U.S. soldiers "fought like heroes" and the British lost as many killed as the U.S..  They were defeated because of "greatly superior numbers of the Indians and British" and lack of ammunition.  "600 said to have been taken prisoner."

**  Have learned from Richmond "that the British have landed on Smith's Island (at the mouth of Cape Charles) and have erected a fortification, and established telegraphic communication with the squadron in the Bay."

Keeping Up With the News.  --Brock-Perry

Second Battle of the River Raisin-- Part 2

The British and Indian force surprised the Americans before daybreak on January 22, 1813.  Winchester had quartered himself in a house south of Frenchtown and when he heard the sounds of battle, he hurried to the scene, only to be captured by Indians on the way.  They took his clothes, giving rise to the legend that he was captured in his bedclothes.

The 17th US Infantry consisted of mostly green troops and were caught out in the open by the onslaught.  They broke and fled with their Col. William Allen being shot dead and then scalped.  Dozens tried to surrender but were shot and tomahawked by the Indians.

The Kentucky Rifle Regiment continued to occupy the town despite being under heavy fire.  They killed many attackers but were running low on ammunition. 

The captured General Winchester was convinced to surrender his troops under the condition they be treated as prisoners of war.

The Kentucky troops continued to fight for another three hours before surrendering.

The British Take Back What They Lost.  --Brock-Perry

Second Battle of the River Raisin-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

The American force under General James Winchester had won a big victory on January 18th and the British had been forced out of Frenchtown in Michigan Territory.  However, he had acted without orders in the attack, but General Harrison was willing to forgive him due Io the success, but was greatly concerned of a British counter-attack.  He sent orders for Winchester to hold his ground and prepare for attack.  In addition, reinforcements of the 17th United States Infantry arrived.

The First battle of the River Raisin was the first combat most of Winchester's men had seen.  Locals warned Winchester of approaching British, but the general paid no heed.  there were no sentries or pickets on watch. 

British General proctor from Detroit had marched his troops southward to Frenchtown from Fort Malden.

More to Come.  --Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: Oct. 7th-- Winchester Arrives

OCTOBER 7, 1812

General James Winchester's army arrives at Fort Defiance, located in present-day Defiance, Ohio, in the northwest corner of the state.

Fort Defiance was built in 1794 at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers by Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne and for many years was the forward American base against the Indians and their British allies.

Fort Winchester construction began in early October 1812 and was completed on Oct. 15th by troops under Gen. William Henry Winchester and named after Brigadier General James Winchester who had also been an officer during the Revolutionary War.

Some More Forts.  --Brock-Perry

After the Siege of Fort Wayne

Yesterday in the timeline, I mentioned about British Major A.C. Muir's expedition to capture Fort Wayne beginning September 14th, today,  200 years ago.

It turns out that operations in and around the fort were still underway.

Thank you, again, Wikipedia.

After the Fort Wayne siege was lifted, William Henry Harrison was relieved of command at the fort by General James Winchester and then took his militia force to Piqua, Ohio, where he joined with another 1000 Kentucky militia.  Here he received word that he was the commander of the Northwestern Army.

He next set out on punitive expeditions to destroy Indian villages, this time along the St. Joseph River.

Meanwhile, General Winchester departed Fort Wayne September 22nd with the aim of recapturing Fort Detroit, but along the way, received news that British Major Muir was enroute to Fort Wayne with a force of British regulars, Canadian militia and thousands of Indians.

He reversed his march and the two sides' scouting parties met near Defiance, Ohio, and the Americans were captured.  The five men were marched back to camp and killed.  Their bodies were later recovered.

Harrison learned of the British advance and rushed to join Winchester.  The two American forces joined October 2, 1812, and Muir withdrew to Canada.

Later, Harrison continued his operations against the Miami tribe, which ended at the Battle of Mississinewa December 1812.

Just Stuff You Didn't Know.  --Brock-Perry