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