Battle of Frenchtown

Battle of Frenchtown
Part of the War of 1812
General Winchester's Headquarters on the River Raisin during the Battles of Frenchtown in 1813
Date January 18–23, 1813 Location Frenchtown, Michigan Territory, US, present-day Frenchtown Charter Township, Monroe County, Michigan 41°54′49″N 83°22′42″W / 41.91361°N 83.37833°W / 41.91361; -83.37833 (Battle of Frenchtown) Result British and Native American victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Wyandot	United States
Commanders and leaders
Henry Procter[a] Roundhead Walk-in-the-Water	James Winchester (POW) George Madison (POW)
Strength
1,397	1,000
Casualties and losses
40 killed 162 wounded 3 captured	410 killed 94+ wounded 547 captured (30-100 of whom were killed in ensuing massacre)
30–100 killed in ensuing Native American massacre

The Battles of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, were a series of conflicts in Michigan Territory that took place from January 18–23, 1813, during the War of 1812. It was fought between the United States of America and a joint force of British and Native Americans near the River Raisin in Frenchtown (present-day Monroe, Michigan).

On January 18, 1813, the Americans forced the retreat of the British and their Native American allies from Frenchtown, which they had earlier occupied, in a relatively minor skirmish. The movement was part of a larger United States plan to advance north and retake Fort Detroit, following its loss in the Siege of Detroit the previous summer. Despite this initial success, the British and Native Americans rallied and launched a surprise counterattack four days later on January 22. Ill-prepared, the Americans lost 397 soldiers in this second battle, while 547 were taken prisoner. Dozens of wounded prisoners were murdered the next day in a massacre by the Native Americans. More prisoners were killed if they could not keep up on the forced march to Fort Malden. This was the deadliest conflict recorded on Michigan soil, and the casualties included the highest number of Americans killed in a single battle during the War of 1812.^[3][4][5]

Parts of the original battlefield were designated as a state historic park and added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2009 Congress authorized its upgrade into the River Raisin National Battlefield Park, one of four such parks in the nation and the only one commemorating the War of 1812.^[6][7]

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