Thriller Thursday - The Battle of the River Raisin

You War of 1812 aficianodos might recognize where the battle of the River Raisin was fought, but for the rest of you, it was in Monroe, Michigan or Frenchtown as it was known in those days.  Several of my family members fought there and three died there. They were Thomas Coleman Graves, Benjamin Franklin Graves and John Woolfolk.  Fortunately for Thomas and John, they were killed. Thomas indeed was even scalped. John was shot after capture and Benjamin was presumedly hauled off to Canada. He was never seen again, and it is thought that he was killed somewhere along the way.

As it is in most wars of that time frame, bodies were buried in mass graves. Such was the case for Thomas Coleman Graves and I have this account taken from "Remember the Raisin:"

He was originally buried the day following the Battle of the River Raisin in a mass grave in Frenchtown.  Some years later, after the town had been renamed Monroe, the grave was disturbed during excavation for a road.  The remains were sent to Detroit and reburied there.  Sometime later, Kentucky asked for the return of these remains and they were again reburied in Covington, Kentucky. Around 1848 they were again transferred to the State Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky, but the site of the grave has been lost.

 I can in no way do justice to the story of the River Raisin. Some years ago, my DH and I actually visited the battlefield and watched a presentation on the battle. I highly recommend the book.

Copyright 2011, ACK for Gene Notes