The River Raisin National Battlefield Park protects the place where the Battle of Frenchtown took place in January 1813 in southeastern Michigan. It is the only national battlefield park that marks a site from the War of 1812. The park became the 393rd unit of the United States National Park Service under Title VII of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which was signed into law on March 30, 2009. It is located in the city of Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan. The site was named a Michigan Historic Site on February 18, 1956, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1982. The former River Raisin Battlefield Visitor Center at 1403 East Elm Avenue was included in the National Register listing in 2019. River Raisin National Battlefield Park officially started operating as a national park unit on October 22, 2010.
Background
The park covers the location of the important Battle of Frenchtown, where 397 American soldiers died and 547 were captured during a fight against British forces and their Indigenous allies in the War of 1812. The battle took place on January 18, 1813, and again on January 22. The first battle, sometimes called the First Battle of the River Raisin, was a victory for the American forces. Four days later, British soldiers led by Colonel Henry Procter and Indigenous warriors led by Roundhead attacked American forces commanded by Brigadier General James Winchester. Many of the American soldiers were inexperienced troops from Kentucky. They were not ready to fight a long battle, and their path to escape was quickly blocked.
Only 33 of Winchester’s 980 soldiers survived the battle. The day after the battle, some captured American soldiers who were too injured to walk were killed by the Potawatomi as revenge for actions the Kentuckians had taken against them. This event is known as the River Raisin Massacre. Those wounded prisoners who could walk were taken to Detroit or Amherstburg and released after money was paid.
Recent history
The River Raisin Battlefield Site was named a Michigan Historic Site on February 18, 1956. However, the exact date when the park was first organized is not known. The site is surrounded by the North Dixie Highway, the River Raisin, Detroit Avenue, and Mason Run Creek. The Battle of Frenchtown was named after the Frenchtown Settlement, which existed in 1784 on the north side of the River Raisin within the current city of Monroe. The battles took place a few miles north and south of the park’s current area. After the battle, Frenchtown was slowly abandoned. The modern city of Monroe developed about 1.5 miles west of Frenchtown, across the River Raisin. Today, the park covers about 40 acres on Monroe’s east side, near Interstate 75. A paper mill was built on the site around 1911 by the River Raisin Paper Company and operated until 1995.
The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1982, and officially named the River Raisin Battlefield Site (20MR227). In 1990, the Monroe County Historic Commission and the Monroe County Historic Society opened the River Raisin Battlefield Visitor Center at 1403 East Elm Avenue. The museum displays some relics from the battle found during archaeological work. The park holds a memorial service each January to honor soldiers who fought in the Battle of Frenchtown, including British forces and their Indigenous allies.
In 1995, the paper mill closed, and the City of Monroe began restoring the battlefield site. The city, the Monroe County Historical Society, and the property owner worked together to clean up the former mill and nearby landfill, later donating the land to the park. They also transferred wetlands to the State of Michigan to expand Sterling State Park. By 2006, land acquisitions were complete. The mill was demolished by 2009, cleanup finished in 2010, and land transfers completed in 2011.
The River Raisin Battlefield Site became part of the National Park System after the River Raisin National Battlefield Act (H.R. 401.IH) was passed by Congress in 2009. The act included land in Monroe and Wayne counties important to the Battle of Frenchtown. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 provided funding to make the site a National Battlefield Park. This was made possible by efforts from Michigan natives and lawmakers, including Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Congressman John Dingell. The site is the fourth National Battlefield Park in the United States and the only one dedicated to the War of 1812. Battlefield sites are often called by different names, such as National Battlefield, National Military Park, or National Historic Site. River Raisin is the fifth national park unit in Michigan, joining 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. Typically, creating a national park takes about eight years, but the process was faster because the county had already preserved the site. Some areas remain unfinished and need more work to match the battle’s historical landscape.
The battlefield site is expected to boost tourism. In 2012, the site received 52,027 visitors, more than the initial estimate of 20,000 to 25,000. Other National Battlefield Parks, which focus on the Civil War, have higher visitor numbers. In 2005, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park had 1,005,510 visitors, Manassas National Battlefield Park had 715,622, and Richmond National Battlefield Park had 68,438.
In 2010, the battlefield park was connected to Sterling State Park through a new nature trail, which may increase visitors to both parks. The president of the Monroe County Historical Society, William Braunlich, aimed to complete park improvements before the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Frenchtown on January 22, 2013. The site officially became a national park unit on October 22, 2010.
In 2014, the park expanded by adding a coastal area with a historic corduroy road, part of Hull’s Trace, a military road linking Fort Detroit to Ohio. This area, managed by Wayne County Parks, is now shared with U.S. Silica and the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality. It is not staffed.
In 2017 and 2018, historic Fort Wayne in Detroit was studied as a possible addition to the national park system, including as part of River Raisin National Battlefield Park. The National Park Service previously helped preserve Fort Wayne and attract visitors.
The park includes a museum with exhibits about the battle, how people survived, and items like bear fur and wolf fur. The museum also has a gift shop and a movie theater showing films related to the battle.