River Raisin

You may judge of our relish for our food when I tell you that one of our company, whose name I will not give, ate so much corn that he appeared to be actually foundered and unable to walk for more than a week.

On the evening of the thirteenth, two Frenchmen arrived from the River Raisin with information that the Indians, routed by Captain Williams, had passed that place on their way to Malden, carrying with them intelligence of our advance.

They said the Indians had threatened to kill their inhabitants and burn their town, and begged for protection from the American arms.

They were charged with a dispatch from Mr.

Day, a citizen who was friendly to our cause, and who stated that the British were seizing all suspected persons at the River Raisin and confining them at Malden Prison, and were preparing to carry off all provisions of every description.

On the fourteenth, another messenger arrived, and on the sixteenth, two more came in.

They all confirmed the news brought by the first, and solicited protection, as they were afraid the people would be massacred and the town burned by the Indians whenever our army should advance upon them.

A council of officers was called by the general, a majority of whom were decidedly in favor of sending a strong detachment.

So definitely check out Sterling State Park so you can say you've been to [laughs] Michigan's only state park on Lake Erie.

And then I would dive into local history at River Raisin National Battlefield Park.

You can explore some immersive exhibits.

They recently opened a brand-new visitors center.

So that would be one you definitely need to add to your list.

And then I would say sip and stroll downtown Monroe.

I always like to tell visitors that it really feels like a smaller, more quaint version of Chicago, 'cause we have the River Raisin that flows right through downtown Monroe, couple bridges that i- go over it.

So if you're sitting, um, enjoying a drink at the Michigan Wine and Beer Portal downtown, it feels like you're, you get a Chicago feel without all the hustle and bustle.

Tecumseh, with the aid of the British agents, had assembled 600 warriors on Bois Blanc Island, and his scouts were soon out watching the movements of the enemy in the surrounding country.

The only way of communication open to the Americans who were advancing towards Detroit was along the west side of the Detroit River by a road which passed through Brownstown from the River Raisin.

This road was kept under the strictest surveillance by the Indians.

On August 5, the scouts reported that Major Van Horn, with 200 cavalry of Hull's army, was on his way from Detroit to meet Captain Brush, who was near the Raisin with a company of Ohio volunteers, bringing official dispatches and provisions for Hull at Sandwich.

Before much could be done, however, the autumn waned and Harrison, with 1,700 men, encamped for the winter on the right bank of the Maumee at the foot of the rapids near the place where Wayne had fought the Battle of the Fallen Timbers 16 years before.

In January 1813, Major Reynolds of the British forces on the Detroit marched into Frenchtown with 50 soldiers and 200 Indians.

Frenchtown stood on the site of the present city of Monroe, Michigan on the River Raisin, about midway between Detroit and Harrison's camp on the Maumee.

On the 18th, scouts reported the approach of an American force of some 550 regulars and Kentucky volunteers.