War of 1812, Part 3: Debacle on the River Raisin

Following the surrender of Detroit, William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, was named as Hull’s replacement. Harrison consolidated his army at the Maumee Rapids and planned to move on Detroit in the spring. But in mid-January 1813, General James Winchester, one of Harrison’s officers, received word that Frenchtown, a small village thirty miles north on the River Raisin, was in danger of being attacked. Although Harrison had instructed Winchester not to advance beyond their base camp, Winchester felt compelled to respond. Winchester laid out his camp with Kentucky militiamen behind a split rail fence on the left but the regulars on the right were completely exposed with no cover to their front. Importantly, Winchester failed to send out scouts to keep an eye on the British. Undetected by the Americans, the British attacked at dawn on January 22.