Reconstructing the Archaeology of the River Raisin Settlement and War of 1812 Battlefield, Monroe, Michigan

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The River Raisin settlement existed at the nexus of national, religious, and colonial contacts and conflicts. Settled by largely French-descended Detroiters in the 1780s and controlled by the British until 1796, it was an important point of interaction during a pivotal period in the “Old Northwest.” The site of key battles in the War of 1812, the events at this location also influenced the course of US-Native relations for a century, providing an excuse for the so-called “removal” process. The site has long been of popular interest, with monuments, commemorations, and even a reunion of veterans presided over by George Armstrong Custer. Starting in the 1970s there was a series of collections of artifacts—some formal, some less so—but there has never been an effort to study this body of artifacts and (sometimes) excavation notes, a gap now addressed by the beginnings of the River Raisin Archaeology Project.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow