The River Raisin National Battlefield Park preserves the site of the Battle of Frenchtown as the only national battlefield marking a site of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. It was established as the 393rd unit of the United States

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

under Title VII of the

Omnibus Public Land Management Act The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (, ) is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected an ...

, which was signed into law on March 30, 2009. The park is located in the city of Monroe in

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: *Monroe County, Alabama * Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida *Monroe County, Georgia * Monroe County, Illinois * Monroe County, Indi ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. It was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on February 18, 1956 and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on December 10, 1982. The house at 1403 East Elm Avenue was added to the National Register listing in 2019. It officially began operation as a national park unit on October 22, 2010.

Background

The area was the site of the costly Battle of Frenchtown, in which 397 Americans were killed and 547 taken prisoner after surrender to the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

and Native American coalition during the

. The fighting took place from January 18–23, 1813. The first engagement, sometimes referred to as the First Battle of the River Raisin, was a success for the American forces. Angered by their forced retreat, the British and Native Americans

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

ed the American forces four days later, on January 22, at the same location along the

River Raisin The River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan, United States, that flows through glacial sediments into Lake Erie. The area today is an agricultural and industrial center of Michigan. The river flows for almost ,U.S. Geological Surv ...

. Many of the Americans were inexperienced troops from Kentucky; they were ill-prepared and unable to retreat. During the Battle of Frenchtown, American brigadier general James Winchester reported that only 33 of his approximate 1,000 men escaped the battlefield. 397 were killed, and 547 were taken prisoner, which marked the deadliest conflict ever on Michigan soil and the worst single defeat the Americans suffered in the entire War of 1812. The day after the battle, dozens of captured Americans too wounded to walk were killed by the Native Americans, mostly

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

, in apparent reprisal for atrocities the Kentuckians had committed against them. This is referred to as the River Raisin Massacre. Prisoners who could walk were marched toward

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Recent history

River Raisin Battlefield Visitors Center

The River Raisin Battlefield Site was listed as a Michigan Historic Site on February 18, 1956, although the exact date at which the park was first organized is unknown. The location of the site is bounded by North Dixie Highway, the

, Detroit Avenue, and Mason Run Creek. The Battle of Frenchtown is so named because it took place in and surrounding the Frenchtown Settlement (1784), on the River Raisin's north bank and within the present-day city limits of Monroe. The area of conflict extended during the three days of battle several miles to the north and south of the current park site. After the battles, Frenchtown was gradually abandoned and the present-day city of Monroe developed from its downtown site 1.5 miles west and on the opposite bank of the River Raisin. The current park area encompasses some 40 acres (16 ha) of undeveloped land on Monroe's east side approximately one-quarter mile (0.4 km) west of

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

. The area contains houses on the outer fringe along East Elm Avenue, and much of the area is occupied by urban development. The River Raisin Paper Company built a large

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

on the site around 1911, which operated under multiple owners until 1995. The site was recognized nationally when it was added to the

on December 10, 1982. It was officially listed as the River Raisin Battlefield Site (20MR227). In July 1990, the Monroe County Historic Commission and the Monroe County Historic Society opened the River Raisin Battlefield Visitor Center within the site at 1403 East Elm Avenue. The museum contains a few relics from the original battle that were discovered during archeological investigations. The park holds a memorial service every January to commemorate all the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Frenchtown, including the British and Indian soldiers who were allied against the Americans. Expansion to the present-day park boundaries commenced in 1995 with closure of the paper mill, at which time the City of Monroe organized efforts to restore the entire battlefield site. The City, Historical Society, and property owner negotiated, acquired and facilitated clean up the former paper mill property and adjacent landfill area for future donation to the park service. In addition they transferred a large expanse of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

marsh to the State of Michigan for expansion of the adjacent Sterling State Park. Acquisitions were complete by 2006, the paper mill was demolished by 2009, the cleanup finished in 2010, and land transfers were completed in 2011.

Promotion to the National Park System

The River Raisin Battlefield Site was chosen to be included as a unit of the National Park System. The River Raisin National Battlefield Act (H.R. 401.IH), which was passed by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

of the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...

on January 9, 2009, said that the future national battlefield site would include land in both Monroe and Wayne counties that has been deemed significant to the Battle of Frenchtown. The passing of the

on March 30, 2009, allocated the funding necessary to promote the site to the status of a

National Battlefield Park National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 25 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance. The design ...

. The park had been authorized as such but was not officially established until this bill was passed. It was included in the bill thanks to the work of Michigan natives and United States senators

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services ...

and

Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer, born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female ...

, as well as Congressman

John Dingell John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longes ...

, a history enthusiast. The site is only the fourth National Battlefield Park in the United States National Park System and is the only one commemorating the War of 1812. Battlefields, however, have been designated using various terms, even within the national park system. These include National Battlefield (without "Park" in the name), National Military Park, National Battlefield Site, National Historical Park, National Monument, and National Historic Site. River Raisin is the fifth national park unit in Michigan. Others include Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; Father Marquette National Memorial is an affiliated unit. The park is still being developed to meet National Park Service standards, with elements dependent on additional funding. The construction of and promotion of a national park typically takes eight years, which includes a variety of steps, such as land acquisition, funding, a management plan, and development of tourism facilities. However, since the county has already preserved and managed the battlefield site, this process took considerably less time. Some areas have yet to be restored to landscapes of the era of the battle. The battlefield site is expected to generate a positive economic effect in tourism. Projected attendance to the park upon its completion was estimated to range from 20,000 to 25,000 visitors a year, but during FY 2012, the battlefield was visited by 52,027 people. The other three National Battlefield Parks, which all relate to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, receive more visitors, based on attendance figures from 2005: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (1,005,510), Manassas National Battlefield Park (715,622), and Richmond National Battlefield Park (68,438). In 2010 the battlefield park was connected to the nearby

Sterling State Park William C. Sterling State Park is a public recreation area located in Frenchtown Charter Township with a small portion lying within the city limits of Monroe, Michigan. It is the only Michigan state park located on Lake Erie. The park encomp ...

through a newly completed nature trail, which is expected to increase the number of visitors in both parks. The president of the Monroe County Historical Society, William Braunlich, hoped to complete elements in the park before the bicentennial celebration of the Battle of Frenchtown on January 22, 2013. The site began operations as a national park unit on October 22, 2010. In 2014, the park expanded by adding a disconnected coastal parcel that includes a historic

corduroy road A corduroy road or log road is a type of road or timber trackway made by placing logs, perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area. The result is an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet rough in the bes ...

, a remnant of Hull's Trace, a military road that connected

Fort Detroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. The Hull's Trace Unit at the beginning of West Jefferson Avenue in Brownstown Township, about 13 miles northeast of the battlefield park, had been managed by Wayne County Parks, and is now cooperatively managed by the National Park Service, the county, U.S. Silica, and the Michigan Departments of

Natural Resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

and

Environmental Quality "Environmental Quality" is a set of properties and characteristics of the environment, either generalized or local, as they impinge on human beings and other organisms. It is a measure of the condition of an environment relative to the requirements ...

. It is an unstaffed site. Spurred in part by planned construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, historic

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Cens ...

in Detroit was studied in 2017 and 2018 as a possible addition to the national park system, including as a unit of River Raisin National Battlefield Park.Michigan leaders want to make crumbling Detroit fort into national park
Bridge Magazine, Detroit, May 3, 2018 The National Park Service had previously assisted in identifying ways to preserve Fort Wayne and draw visitors.

Historic markers

File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park3.jpg File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park6.jpg File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park4.jpg File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park5.jpg File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park7.jpg File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park8.jpg File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park9.jpg File:River Raisin National Battlefield Park10.jpg

External links

River Raisin National Battlefield Park
National Park Service

References

{{Authority control Landmarks of the War of 1812 Monroe, Michigan National Park Service areas in Michigan Archaeological sites in Michigan Protected areas established in 2009 Museums in Monroe County, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Monroe County Michigan in the War of 1812 Protected areas of Monroe County, Michigan Military and war museums in Michigan Museums of the War of 1812 Parks in Michigan 2009 establishments in Michigan Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Battlefields and Military Parks of the United States