Battle of Frenchtown The Battle of Frenchtown , also known as the Battle of the River Raisin or the River Raisin Massacre , was a series of conflicts that took place from January 18 – 23 , 1813 during the War of 1812 . It was fought between the United States and a British and Native American alliance near the River Raisin in Frenchtown , Michigan Territory ( present - day Monroe , Michigan ) . On January 18 , 1813 the Americans forced the retreat of the British and their Indian allies from Frenchtown , which they had earlier occupied , in a relatively minor skirmish . The encounter was part of a larger plan to advance north and retake Fort Detroit following the loss of the fort in the Siege of Detroit the previous summer . Despite the initial American success , the British and Native Americans rallied and launched a surprise counterattack four days later on January 22 . Three hundred ninety - seven Americans were killed in this second battle , while hundreds were taken prisoner and dozens of them killed in a subsequent massacre by Native Americans the following day . It was the deadliest conflict ever fought on Michigan soil , and the casualties included the highest number of Americans killed in a single battle during the War of 1812 . Parts of the original battlefield have recently been designated as the River Raisin National Battlefield Park . Naming . The Battle of Frenchtown is so named because it took place within Frenchtown in the Michigan Territory , although much of the land on which it took place is now incorporated within the city of Monroe . The name is sometimes used to refer solely to the conflict that took place on January 22 , 1813 , while the conflict that took place on January 18 is sometimes referred to as the First Battle of the River Raisin or as merely a prelude to the larger encounter on January 22 . The plural term Battle " s " of Frenchtown is also used to refer to the overall conflict between January 18 – 22 . While the battle began on January 18 , the heaviest of fighting took place on January 22 and may have continued for several days . It is often called the Battle of the River Raisin , because of its proximity to the River Raisin . The engagement may be divided into the First Battle of the River Raisin ( January 18 ) and the Second Battle of the River Raisin ( January 22 ) . The name River Raisin Massacre is used for January 23 , one day after the surrender , when pro - British Indians murdered dozens of wounded Kentucky volunteers who were too badly injured to march as prisoners . Background . On August 17 , 1812 , Brigadier General William Hull , commanding the American Army of the Northwest , surrendered his troops and Fort Detroit to the British following the Siege of Detroit . The British success convinced many Native Americans to side with them . General Hull was later tried by a military court and sentenced to death for his disgraceful conduct at Detroit . However , President James Madison commuted the sentence to dismissal from the army in recognition of Hull ’ s honorable service during the American Revolution . At the time , Fort Detroit was an important outpost that could allow the Americans to invade British Upper Canada . Its capture instead allowed British forces to increase their numbers in the Michigan Territory . After the British seized Detroit , the militia around Frenchtown also surrendered and were disarmed . Only south of Fort Detroit , the residents of Frenchtown feared threats from the British and Native Americans , who had now occupied the area . The people of Frenchtown urged the American army to regroup to drive the invaders back to Upper Canada . After Hull ' s dismissal , Brigadier General James Winchester was given command of the Army of the Northwest . Rather than pushing north to attempt to retake Detroit , Winchester had a lesser agenda , and his unpopularity led to the command of the army being given to Major General William Henry Harrison . Winchester was made second - in - command . Harrison ' s first plan of action on taking command was to move the army north to recover Detroit . To accomplish this , he divided the army and personally led one column , the second column marching under command of Winchester . Meanwhile , Brigadier General Henry Procter , commanding the British Army around Detroit , had assembled all the British troops in the area , as well as around 500 allied Native Americans under the Shawnee leader Tecumseh . While Tecumseh was present at Frenchtown , he did not participate in the fighting . First Battle of the River Raisin . James Winchester , the second - in - command of the Army of the Northwest , led a column consisting of approximately 1 , 000 inexperienced regulars and volunteers , most of whom came from Kentucky . Major General William Henry Harrison had ordered him to remain within supporting distance of Harrison ' s column near the Maumee River ( in present - day Perrysburg , Ohio ) about south of Frenchtown . Instead , Winchester ignored his orders and sent a small relief detachment north to Frenchtown along the River Raisin . Lieutenant Colonel William Lewis led these men across the frozen Maumee River and along the coast of Lake Erie to the River Raisin . His force consisted of 667 Kentuckians and about 100 local French - speaking militiamen . On January 18 , 1813 , Lewis charged across the frozen River Raisin to attack the British and Indian camp , which contained 63 soldiers of the Essex Militia , accompanied by a 3 - pounder cannon , and about 200 Potawatomi es . A brisk battle took place before the Americans forced the British and their allies to retreat . The Canadians charged the American lines several times , supported by the gunfire of the Indians . Fighting continued sporadically for several hours , with the Canadians and natives fighting log to log after which Lewis reclaimed Frenchtown . Reynolds ' brother commented later how the Essex Militia “ fought most bravely , retired slowly from log to log . ” In fact , the skirmish has been noted as one of a few examples where Canadian militia stood fast without the backing of British regulars during the war . Kentucky Rifleman William Atherton ' s memoires offer gruesome testimony to how adept the Essex men and natives were at bush fighting , stating “ the fight now became very close , and extremely hot . . . I received a wound in my right shoulder . ” The moment before Atherton was hit he witnessed two of his fellow riflemen move too far forward . One was killed and the other wounded . Atherton described perfectly the tactics used by Reynolds and his men : “ Their method was to retreat rapidly until they were out of sight ( which was soon the case in the brushy woods ) and while we were advancing they were preparing to give us another fire ; so we were generally under the necessity of firing upon them as they were retreating . ” Another Kentucky private had similar recollections : “ As we advanced they were firing themselves behind logs , trees , etc . to the best advantage . ” After a long , bloody and exhaustive withdrawal over two miles of woodland , the Canadians and natives slipped away , leaving Frenchtown to the Kentuckians . This skirmish would later be known as the First Battle of the River Raisin . During their retreat from Frenchtown , the Native Americans looted the small settlement of Sandy Creek about north of the River Raisin , which had been settled in 1780 . All 16 houses were burned to the ground , and at least two of the residents were killed . Sandy Creek was never rebuilt . Second Battle of the River Raisin . Following the recapture of Frenchtown , Brigadier General James Winchester and the rest of his troops met with Colonel Lewis two days later on January 20 , 1813 . Winchester had acted without orders , but Harrison was pleased with Lewis ’ s success . However , Harrison was concerned that the British forces might combine and overpower Winchester ’ s small force . He ordered additional men , including three companies of the 17th U . S . Infantry and one company of the 19th U . S . Infantry , to move to Frenchtown . He then sent a messenger to Winchester to order him to hold the ground and prepare for further combat . Winchester ' s soldiers were largely untrained and inexperienced , and the First Battle of the River Raisin was the first combat most had seen . Furthermore , Winchester ' s planning was poor . Ammunition and other necessary supplies had not been brought forward from the Maumee River . The palisade around the town had not been strengthened , and the regulars of the 17th and 19th U . S . Infantry were camped outside its walls . Several days after the first clash , local residents reported to Winchester that a large British force was heading toward Frenchtown . Winchester ignored their warning , insisting it would be " some days " before the British " would be ready to do anything . " His troops were camped throughout Frenchtown . Without ensuring that sentries and pickets had been placed , Winchester retired for the night to his headquarters at the Navarre House south of the town . On hearing that the Americans had recaptured Frenchtown , Brigadier General Henry Procter , commander of the British forces around Detroit , marched with his troops from Fort Malden and crossed the Detroit River from Upper Canada , invading Michigan in strength . His army consisted of 597 regulars from the 41st Regiment of Foot and Royal Newfoundland Fencibles , joined by about 800 Indians . Shawnee leader Tecumseh was in the area , but he was not present at the Battle of Frenchtown . He left command of the Native Americans to Wyandot chiefs Roundhead and Walk - in - the - Water . The Indians included Shawnee , Potawatomi , Ottawa , Chippewa , Delaware , Miami , Winnebago , Creek , Sauk , and Fox tribes . Procter ' s artillery consisted of six light 3 - pounder cannons drawn on sledges , manned by men from the Canadian Provincial Marine . Procter halted about north of the River Raisin to prepare for battle on January 21 . Proctor surprised the American forces before sunrise on January 22 . A Canadian volunteer , John Richardson , who marched with the 41st Regiment of Foot , later wrote , " On the 22nd , before daybreak , came within sight of the enemy . . . such was their security and negligence that . . . our line was actually half formed within musket shot of their defenses before they were even aware of our presence . " The American regulars only stood for twenty minutes . These four companies of regular infantry , consisting mostly of green recruits , were caught in the open ; faced with heavy musket volleys to their front while under direct roundshot and canister fire from the six 3 - pounders and being flanked by the Essex militia and natives , they broke and fled . General Winchester was awakened by the roar of artillery fire and rushed to the battlefield , sending 240 men from the 1st Kentucky Rifle Regiment along with Col . John Allen to reinforce the regulars . It was to no avail . Under fire from three sides , the American troops fell into a headlong retreat towards Ohio . They attempted to rally three separate times , but were eventually surrounded on a narrow road . Nearly 220 of the 400 Americans had been killed , many of them shot , tomahawked and scalped during their withdrawal . 147 , including Winchester were captured by natives and Canadian militia on the way . Chief Roundhead stripped him of his uniform before handing him to the British , which led to the legend that he was captured in his nightshirt . The American were scattered and not in any position to fight . The 17th ' s colonel , John Allen , was shot dead and scalped . Dozens tried to surrender and laid down their weapons , only to be shot or tomahawked by the Indians . Members of other units also tried to flee , but most were chased down and killed . A few removed their shoes and ran through the snow in their stockings to leave footprints that looked like moccasin and thus managed to escape . The British occupied a large barn , which was set on fire by William Orlando Butler , forcing them from their shelter . The 1st , 5th Kentucky Rifle Regiments and the 1st Volunteers continued to hold in the town . At the cost of 5 killed and 40 wounded , they had killed or wounded all but 1 member of the gun crews manning the 3 cannon in the center of the British line , 13 of the 16 - man howitzer crew , as well as many infantry , but they were finally running out of ammunition after having repulsed three assaults . Winchester was urged by Procter to order his remaining men to surrender ; otherwise they would all be killed and Frenchtown burned down . Procter demanded an unconditional surrender and refused Winchester ' s counter - proposals since Winchester was already his prisoner . Major George Madison , an American officer still on the battlefield , persuaded Procter to accept a surrender on the condition that all would be protected as prisoners of war . When they saw the British waving a white flag , the Kentucky riflemen thought it meant a call for a truce . Unfortunately , a British officer gave them an order to surrender from General Winchester . They refused and said they would fight to the death rather than trust the Indians , but George Madison issued a formal declaration of surrender after about three more hours of fighting . The British made several attempts to persuade the Indians to destroy Frenchtown , but the Potawatomi refused to allow this since they had given the land to the settlers and did not wish to inflict more harm on them . River Raisin Massacre . Immediately following the American surrender , some of the Kentuckians argued with their officers that " they would rather die on the field " than surrender , fearing that their surrender would lead to their eventual deaths anyway at the hands of their captors . However , the fighting ceased immediately following their surrender . At least 300 Americans were initially estimated as killed , and over 500 were taken as prisoners . Procter , unsure of what do with so many prisoners , wanted to make a hasty retreat in case that William Henry Harrison would send more troops to the area once word of Winchester ' s defeat reached him . The uninjured prisoners were marched north and then across the frozen Detroit River to Fort Malden , but the wounded prisoners unable to walk were left behind at Frenchtown . Procter had to wait another day for sleds to arrive to transport the wounded American prisoners , but he feared that more Americans were on the way from the south . However , on the morning of January 23 , the Native Americans began robbing and pillaging the injured Americans . Any American able to walk was marched away toward Fort Malden , while many of the more severely injured were left behind and simply murdered . The buildings that housed the wounded were set on fire . Those that could escape the burning buildings were murdered as they tried to flee , and those unable to move died in the fires . While the prisoners were marched north toward Detroit , those unable to keep up with the march were murdered as well . An account from a survivor read , " The road was for miles strewed with the mangled bodies . " Estimates of the numbers of wounded killed by Native Americans range from 30 to as high as 100 . The needless slaughter of the American wounded , which became known as the River Raisin Massacre , so horrified contemporary Americans that it overshadowed the actual battle and word of it spread throughout the country . The massacre was particularly devastating for the state of Kentucky , which supplied many soldiers that fell during the Battle of Frenchtown and subsequent massacre . The rallying cry " Remember the River Raisin " prompted many Kentuckians to enlist immediately for service in the war . Aftermath . While it is not known how many soldiers died during the First Battle of the River Raisin on January 18 , 1813 , official counts list 397 Americans killed and 27 wounded during the January 22 conflict . Also , figures of those that were killed during the subsequent River Raisin Massacre are also unknown but estimates are as high as 100 killed . Two weeks after the battle , Brigadier General James Winchester reported that 547 of his men were taken as prisoners and only 33 escaped the battlefield . Many of those that were held as prisoners were detained at Fort Malden until the end of the war over two years later . Winchester himself was imprisoned for over a year before being released and reassigned to service . James Winchester largely bore the responsibility for the devastating loss at Frenchtown . His ill - prepared defensive planning following the successful First Battle of the River Raisin led to the defeat of his army and the high number of deaths his column suffered . Had Winchester retreated to the Maumee River to rejoin with William Henry Harrison ' s column , they could have strengthened their numbers and marched back to Frenchtown with the necessary troops and preparedness to fight the British and Native Americans . Instead , Winchester remained in Frenchtown with his small force despite advanced knowledge of a British and Native American counterattack . He was also unaware that Harrison ' s troops were on their way and would arrive shortly . During the Second Battle of the River Raisin , Winchester was captured rather early into the battle and surrendered his army at the urging of Henry Procter . While his army suffered heavy losses at the start of the surprise attack , the Kentuckians regrouped and had fought off three waves of British lines to protect their camp , although they were very low on ammunition when the order of surrender came from Winchester . Had the Americans prolonged the battle long enough for Harrison ' s column to arrive at Frenchtown , the outcome of the battle could have changed . The British reported that only 24 were killed and 161 wounded , but the Native American casualties are not known to have been documented . Immediately following the battle , Procter , fearing that William Henry Harrison would send more Americans to Frenchtown , made a hasty retreat slightly north to Brownstown . Harrison was forced to call off his winter campaign to retake Detroit , which remained in British hands until an American victory at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10 , 1813 allowed for the recapture of Detroit . As for Frenchtown , it remained a stronghold for the British until Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson from Kentucky led his cavalry to liberate Frenchtown on September 27 , 1813 . The retreating British were pushed back into Upper Canada defeated at the Battle of the Thames on October 5 . Three currently active battalions of the Regular Army ( 1 - 3 Inf , 2 - 3 Inf and 4 - 3 Inf ) perpetuate the lineage of the old 17th and 19th Infantry Regiments , both of which had elements in action during fighting at Frenchtown . Nine counties in Kentucky were later named for officers who fought in the Battle of Frenchtown . Of the following list , only Bland Ballard survived the battle . Several streets in Monroe near the battle site have been named in honor of those that fought in the Battle of Frenchtown , including Kentucky Avenue and Winchester Street . To further honor the heroism of those from Kentucky that fought in the Battle of Frenchtown , the state of Michigan erected a monument in downtown Monroe in 1904 . The monument is located on the west side of South Monroe Street ( M - 125 ) at the corner of 7th Street . Also , on this site lay the unidentified remains of some of the victims who died in the battle and the subsequent massacre . The core area where the battle took place was listed as a Michigan Historic Site on February 18 , 1956 . The location of the site is bounded by North Dixie Highway , the River Raisin , Detroit Avenue , and Mason Run Creek . The site was recognized nationally when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10 , 1982 . The River Raisin National Battlefield Park was signed into law on March 30 , 2009 with the passing of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act . Once the park receives the funding necessary for completion , it will be included on the National Park Service as one of only four National Battlefield Parks in the United States .