Lexington, KY - Strictly speaking, every year is "historic." That's because history is happening all the time. We just don't know it yet. As a culture, we have a fluid standard for when something becomes "historic." Generally, the decade after an event such as 9/11 sparks a need to recognize it in special ways. But anyone 10 years out of high school or college probably does not view that anniversary as historic. Cars don't become antiques until 25 years. The Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation holds a 50-year threshold, but gets really serious at 100 years.
What makes 2012 special in terms of historic events is the overlapping of three historic periods in our nation's -- and Lexington's -- history: the 70th anniversary of World War II (which began in December 2011), the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States (which began in April 2010), and what gets short shrift of all the anniversaries, the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which begins June 18, 2012.
Of the three, the War of 1812 arguably had the most impact on Lexington, yet is the least remembered.
What we tend to know about the War of 1812 are mostly three things: The burning of Washington by the British on Aug. 24, 1814 (after we had burned their Canadian capitol at York, now Toronto), the siege of Fort McHenry and the genesis of the "Star Spangled Banner" on Sept. 13, 1814 (the tune of which is a British army drinking song), and the Battle of New Orleans on Jan. 8, 1815 (fought and won after the war had officially ended on Dec. 24, 1814).
What most do not know, or forgot if they did once, is that a large number of Lexington men fought and died in Canada during two major battles: the Battle of River Raisin and its massacre on Jan. 22, 1813, and the Battle of the Thames on Oct. 5, 1813.
Called the "Second American Revolution," the War of 1812 was fought for a variety of political and military reasons. To be sure, even though the colonies had secured their independence from Britain in April 1783, Britannia still ruled the waves. And, being at war with France (which had rescued the American army at Yorktown in 1781), the Brits demanded the U.S. cease trading with the French. Moreover, incidents of impressment, whereby the British navy stopped and boarded American ships to impress (forcibly "recruit") American sailors was a compelling reason for the young nation to defend its sovereignty.
In the interior, the American Indians were settling their tribal differences with Tecumseh's dream of a confederation to thwart any western expansion by the nascent nation. The British saw this move as one to their advantage to create a buffer to protect their Canadian territories. Providing arms to the Indians led by their legendary leader Tecumseh caused terror in the Northwest Territories.
A group of American politicians, led by our own Henry Clay and calling themselves the "War Hawks," saw a great advantage in taking on the world's only super power. If the British army was tied down on the continent, then they may be too distracted to defend their North American holdings. Forget the fact that the British navy controlled the Great Lakes and moved at will in the Atlantic, and that we are talking about vast areas of the American continent, the Hawks pushed for war and got their declaration on June 1, 1812. (Note to history: under today's Senate rules, the vote would have fallen one short.)
President James Madison's war plans relied heavily on the state militias to conquer Canada, out of New England and the western states, including Kentucky. A force of 1,300 Kentuckians, many from Lexington, then the principal city, was raised by Gen. Richard Winchester and sent to campaign in the Northwest Territories. Detroit had fallen to the British in October 1812, and Gen. William Henry Harrison planned a three-pronged counteroffensive with the Kentuckians on the left flank.
Heavy snows in the fall and early winter of 1812 slowed the Americans' advance. Reaching the rendezvous first, Gen. Winchester made the fatal decision to attack without support to capture provisions for his starved and frozen men. On Jan. 18, the Kentuckians captured the settlement at Frenchtown (now Monroe, Mich.) and encamped in an open field. On Jan. 22, the British struck back with a force of 1,200-1,400 soldiers and American Indians. The Kentucky soldiers were quickly routed and fled into the woods. Those taken prisoner, including Gen. Winchester, were marched away, leaving about 80 wounded behind. That night, the Indians massacred up to 60 of the wounded. Thereafter, Kentucky's battle cry was, "Remember the River Raisin!"
Within the year, Gen. Harrison's Northwest Army launched a water-land assault on Detroit. Kentucky forces included 1,000 cavalry under Congressman Richard M. Johnson and 3,500 volunteers under Gov. Isaac Shelby. With only 1,000 regulars and the American Indians commanded by Tecumseh, the British abandoned Detroit to make a stand at Thamesville, Ontario, on Oct. 5, 1813. The mounted Kentuckians routed the British, but the Indians, hiding in swampland on the right flank, fought to the death, including Tecumseh. The result of the battle was the destruction of the British army in Canada (the navy had already been defeated at the Battle of Erie under Oliver Hazard Perry) and the disintegration of the Indian Confederation.
As the result of the campaigns, nine Kentucky counties are named for soldiers who died at River Raisin (Allen, Ballard, Edmonson, Graves, Hart, Hickman, McCracken, Meade and Simpson), as well as Hazard and Perry County.