Battle of Frenchtown 1813
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1813 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of 1812 | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.9136, -83.3783 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, refers to two consecutive engagements during the War of 1812. Fighting between American forces commanded by Brigadier General James Winchester and British and allied forces under Colonel Henry Procter took place on January 18 and 22, 1813, at Frenchtown, Michigan Territory (present-day Monroe, Michigan) on the River Raisin roughly 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Detroit.
On January 18, American militia forced the retreat of a British and Indigenous detachment occupying Frenchtown. The attack was part of a larger plan to retake Detroit following its loss after the siege of Detroit the previous summer. Four days later on January 22, the British and their Indigenous allies launched a surprise counterattack. Ill-prepared, the Americans lost 397 soldiers in this second battle, while 547 were taken prisoner. A number of wounded prisoners were murdered the following morning by a group of Indigenous warriors, while a few other prisoners were killed as they were brought to Fort Amherstburg. The Battle of Frenchtown was the deadliest conflict recorded on Michigan soil, and represents the highest number of Americans killed in a single battle during the War of 1812.
Parts of the original battlefield were designated as a state historic park and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Frenchtown (revision 1380702892), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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All 59 battles of the War of 1812 →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles