WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM H. BRAUNLICH

**President, Monroe County Historical Society**

**Trustee, Monroe County Community College**

**Director, The Foundation at Monroe County Community College**

**Citizen, County of Monroe, MI**

**U.S. Senate Subcommittee on National Parks**

**Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources**

**Hearing Date: July 30, 2008 at 2:30 p.m.**

**RE: River Raisin National Battlefield Park (S.3247)**

The community of Monroe, Michigan, respectfully submits that the River
Raisin Battlefield meets, and in many ways exceeds, the established
criteria of national significance, suitability, and feasibility for
inclusion in the National Park System. In fact, the War of 1812 River
Raisin Battlefield represents a theme, site and resource not already
adequately represented in the National Park System. And, as a tremendous
bonus to the citizens of the United States of America, the proposed
River Raisin National Battlefield Park is located in Monroe County,
Michigan, the gateway county to the great state of Michigan. By way of
explanation, the proposed River Raisin National Battlefield Park is
located between Toledo, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan and is but a stone's
throw from I-75, the major traffic artery in the state of Michigan. The
proposed River Raisin National Battlefield Park will be linked by
walking trails to one of the most beautiful and frequented state parks
in the Michigan State Park System -- **Sterling State Park** -- and is
also extremely close to **Plum Creek Bay** on Lake Erie, recently
donated by the County of Monroe to the Detroit River International
Wildlife Refuge. Thus, visitors will have easy access to a splendid
trifecta of War of 1812 history, exquisite natural habitat and beautiful
Lake Erie shoreline -- a National Battlefield Park, an International
Wildlife Refuge and a Michigan State Park.

Who are we? The Monroe County Historical Society is a Michigan
Non-profit 501C3 Charitable Organization established in 1938 and
governed by a fifteen person board of directors. The Society's mission
is to collect, preserve, share and celebrate Monroe County History
through innovative exhibits, programs, publications and support of the
Monroe County Historical Museum and River Raisin Battlefield Museum.

The Society has been at the forefront of the River Raisin Battlefield
Project during the past decade and has funded numerous battlefield
initiatives dedicated to acquisition of the battlefield, environmental
remediation of the site, archeological research, academic scholarship,
and educational programming. The Society's objective is to foster a
broader awareness of the national significance of the River Raisin
Battlefield site and a deeper appreciation of the important historical
role that Frenchtown (now Monroe) played in the history of North
America. The Society has been joined, at every step of the way, with
committed partners from the City of Monroe, Port of Monroe, County of
Monroe, Monroe County Community College, the State of Michigan, and the
United States Government. To date, the grants, loans and in-kind
contributions committed to the River Raisin Battlefield project from
federal, state, local and non-governmental organizations exceeds 5.1
million dollars.

This past January of 2008, the Monroe County Historical Society
commissioned Dr. G. Michael Pratt of Heidelberg College to chair a
multi-disciplinary team of historians, archeologists and academicians to
draft a nomination of the River Raisin Battlefield as a National
Historical Landmark. The Society desired to compliment, assist, support
and accelerate the study by the National Park Service and provide
technical, historical and archeological data for inclusion of the River
Raisin Battlefield as a National Historic Landmark and as a prospective
unit of the national park system. Representatives of the National Park
met with members of the National Historic Landmark Nomination team in
April of 2008 and the River Raisin Battlefield was toured by the
Secretary of Interior on Saturday, July 26, 2008. The progress on the
River Raisin Battlefield Project has been impressive and substantial.

The Monroe County Historical Society has also commissioned Brian
Dunnigan, Interim Director of the world famous Clements Library, to
author a monograph on the national significance of the battles and
massacre of the River Raisin. Brian Dunnigan's monograph is attached and
incorporated into this written statement in favor of the River Raisin
Battlefield legislation before the Senate National Park Subcommittee. By
way of background, Brian Dunnigan is a highly recognized and noted
Michigan historian and author and also serves on a National Park
advisory committee. Brian Dunnigan's Statement on the National
Significance contributes greatly to the academic scholarship on these
important historical events and our contemporary understanding of
American formative history on the Northwest frontier.

We respectfully submit the following attachments for consideration by
the US Senate Subcommitee on National Parks:

1.  "Statement of National Significance, River Raisin Battlefield"
    authored by Brian Leigh Dunnigan, Interim Director, Head of Research
    and Publication, Curator of Maps, William L. Clements Library,
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (4 pages);

2.  "The River Raisin Monuments at Monroe, Michigan," by John M.
    Buckley,

> 141 -- 154 \[Volume 15 / 1906 / No. 2\] (14 pages);

3.  "Monroe County Historical Society Funds Nomination of River Raisin
    Battlefield as National Historic Landmark -- Press Release of
    February 15, 2008 (7 pages).

We are thrilled to report that through a tremendous community
collaborative, we have assembled the core parcels of real estate, both
by donation and by purchase. The River Raisin battlefield parcels are
held in readiness by the Port of Monroe, City of Monroe, County of
Monroe and the Monroe County Historical Society. The industrial
intrusions into the battlefield site have been almost completely removed
and the natural environment is being restored and reclaimed.

> What the community of Monroe recognizes, and has recognized for a very
> long time, is that our 1812 Battlefield and its compelling story does
> not belong just to our city, or our county or even our great state of
> Michigan. It belongs to the people of the United States of America.
> Thus, we stand ready to transfer the River Raisin Battlefield to the
> citizens of the United States of America and to celebrate its
> incorporation into the National Park System. We are confident that the
> energy and commitment of our community, as displayed during the past
> decade of work on the battlefield project, will make this a successful
> and celebrated inclusion into our National Park System and the perfect
> way to commemorate the upcoming 200^th^ anniversary of the War of
> 1812.
>
> Submitted by:
>
> William H. Braunlich
>
> President, Monroe County Historical Society
>
> 111 South Macomb Street
>
> Monroe, MI 48161
>
> \(734\) 241-8300
>
> E-mail: whbraunlich@brblaw.net