How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Cry-- Part 5: The Second Battle at the River Raisin

Arriving before dawn on January 22, 1813, and unnoticed by the American sentries, a force of 600 British Canadians and 800 Native warriors gathered into battle positions along the Mason Run Creek, about 250-350 yards to the north of the settlement.  

British regulars and artillery were positioned in the center, a dispersed clustering of Native warriors made up mostly of Anishinaabeg (Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi) and Miami, accompanied by some Canadian militia were to the west, and to the east was a large number of Native warriors, mostly Wyandot and Shawnee, in the forward position, supported by Canadian militia and artillery to their rear.

Reveille sounded, and an American sentry spotted the British in the pre-dawn light. He fired a shot into the forward line that killed the lead grenardier, and the report of his musket sent 1,000 just awakened soldiers scrambling for their battle positions.

Almost immediately, the British opened with their artillery and the infantry pushed forward from its center position.  As they drew within range of the settlement, the British infantrymen fired a powerful volley at what, in the still dark distance, had seemed to be a line of soldiers.

Well, It Wasn't a Line of Soldiers.  --Brock-Perry

Okay, So What Is a Puncheon Fence?

In the last post I mentioned that the Americans set up camp inside a puncheon fence.  I know what a fence is, but what is a puncheon fence?

I had to look it up.

According to "Remember the Raisin vocabulary,"  a puncheon fence is one that is made up of split logs with one side smooth and the other still naturally round.

OK. So You Learn Something Every Day.  -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

Some More on Destroyers Named USS Jacob Jones

The USS Jacob Jones (DD-61) was sunk by a German U-boat during World War I.  It was named after War of 1812 veteran naval officer Jacob Nathaniel Jones.

It was sunk on December 6, 1917, with the loss of 66 men of a crew of 99.

This was the first ship in the U.S. Navy with the name.

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But, there was another USS Jacob Jones (DD-130), Wickes-class destroyer.  Commissioned in  1919 and it too was sunk by torpedoes from a German U-boat on February 28, 1942 during World War II.  Only 11 of her crew of 113 survived.

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Then there was a third USS Jacob Jones (DE-130) commissioned in 1943.  It was a destroyer escort.  It was not sunk by a torpedo and decommissioned in 1946.

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So, there were three vessels in the U.S. Navy named after Jacob Jones.

--Brock-Perry

Jacob Jones and the Destroyer Named After Him

Today, I posted about the discovery of the shipwreck of the destroyer USS Jacob Jones this past August in my Cooter's History Thing blog.  It was discovered off the coast of England's southwest side.  It was the first U.S. Navy destroyer sunk in enemy action.

It was torpedoed by a German U-boat, the U-53, on 6 December 1917, after the United States had entered World War I.

It was named after Jacob Nicholas Jones who had quite a career in the American Navy that spanned the Quasi-War with France, The First Barbary War, the War of 1812 and the Second Barbary War.

I have written a whole lot about him.  Just click on his name in the labels below.

--Brock-Perry

How the Horrors of the River Raisin Became a Rallying Cry-- Part 2: The Surrender of Detroit and the Michigan Territory

American mobilization continued as Brigadier General William Hull, commander of U.S. forces in theOld Northwest -- accompanied by 1,200 Ohio militia and 200 regular soldiers -- arrived in Detroit on July 5, 1812, and began preparations for the attack.

Invasion of British-held present-day Ontario began on July 12.  While Hull assailed the British at Fort Amherstburg, a small British force surrounded and took control of the unaware U.S. garrison at Fort Mackinac.

Hull, unable to hold the captured Fort Amherstburg and protect an overextended supply line that stretched back to Ohio, returned to Detroit in the first week of August.

Hull surrendered Detroit and the entire Michigan Territory on August 16 after a siege by the British and Native warriors.  Hull did this, knowing that more Native warriors were on their way from the upper Great Lakes, and that he was cut off from American support assembling at the River Raisin close to the Ohio border.

--Brock-Perry

The Annual Observance at Ground Zero, the World Trade Center

I was unable to do my annual commemoration of 9/11 in my blogs yesterday, but am doing it today.  It will be in seven of my eight blogs.

From the 911 Memorial Org. "21st Anniversary Commemoration."

The heart of the mission of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum remains the annual commemoration ceremony.  Family members of the 9/11 victims will once again gather on the Memorial plaza to read aloud the names of those killed in the 9/11  attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Throughout the ceremony, six moments of silence will be observed to mark when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck and fell and the times of the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93.

The program will commence at 8:30 am and the first moment of silence at  8:46.

How the Horrors at the River Raisin Became a Rallying Call-- Part 1

From the Summer 2022 American Battlefield Trust Hallowed Ground "A National Calamity." 

In 1812, as war between the United States and Great Britain was on its way, the Michigan Territory emerged as a critical theater of operations with its location north of the state of Ohio (admitted in 1803) and its border with the British Upper Canada.  It was an obvious avenue of nvasion, both ways.

American militias were called into service building preparatory roads  even before Congress declared war on June 18, 1812.

While the ongoing war in Europe between Britain and Napoleon kept most British troops occupied, few could be spared for operations against the United States, much to our benefit.  The British commander in North America, Major General Isaac Brock had to rely more on Canadian militia and the cooperation of the Native American Confederation under the Shawnee war chief Tecumseh.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: A Big Month for the Star-Spangled Banner

SEPTEMBER 10, 1813

**  The Battle of Lake Erie

SEPTEMBER 11, 1814

**  Battle of Lake Champlain, New York

SEPTEMBER 12,1814

**  Battle of North Point, Maryland

SEPTEMBER 13, 1814

**  Bombardment of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland

SEPTEMBER 14, 1814

**  The flag was still there.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Encampment at Old Fort Niagara-- Part 2: Schedule of Events

Scheduled demonstrations:

**  Infantry drills and firing at 10:30 daily

**  Artillery firing at 11 daily

**  Uniforms of the War of 1812 at 11:30 daily

**  Musket firing at noon, 1, , 2, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday and noon, 1, 2, 4 and 5 p.m. Sunday

**  Regency women's fashions at 12:30 daily

**  "Hot Shot" artillery firing at 1:30 daily

**  Firepower weapon's program at 3:30 Saturday and 2:30 Sunday

There will also be a tour of  Fort Niagara in the War of 1812 at 3:15 p.m. Sunday.

Sounds Like a Great Time.  --Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Encampment Returning This Weekend to Old Fort Niagara

From the September 4, 2022, Niagara Gazette (New York) by Robert  Creenan.

One of Old Fort Niagara's favorite events is returning this weekend to show visitors what life was like during the War of 1812.  There will be close to 100 re-enactors present and it is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from  10 a.m. to 5 p.m..

In addition, there will be other activities:

Lecturer   Richard V. Barbuto, Ph.D. will speak about the Battle of New Orleans at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Visitor Center auditorium.

There will be a "Hot Shot" artillery demonstration showing how cannonballs were heated and what kind of specific damage they could do to a fort or ship.

There will also be musket and other artillery firing.

There will be ongoing demonstrations of  early 19th century soldier life, including blacksmithing, silversmithing, laundry, cooking and foodways.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 5: 'We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Ours'

Despite losing his flagship, Oliver Hazard Perry was able to disable and scatter the British fleet.

When it came time for their surrender, he had the site moved back to his flagship, the USS Lawrence, so they could see the damage they had done to the ship.

He wrote a letter to General William Henry Harrison with the now famous statement:  "We have met the enemy and they are ours.  Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop."

This enabled Harrison, then, to launch his invasion of the western part of Upper Canada, which ended in the British total defeat at the Battle of the Thames and the death of Indian chief Tecumseh.

Perry was hailed as the "Hero of Lake Erie."

Dedicated in 1931, Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial is a testimony of the American victory on Lake Erie and a nod to a long-standing peace among the U.S., Britain and Canada.  Initially, three American and three British military members were buried at the monument as a reminder of the losses suffered by both sides during the fierce 1813 battle.

The bodies were later exhumed and reburied at De Rivera Park.

There is no doubt that the towering structure embodies a history of great proportions.

--Brock-Perry