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National Recognition, 200 Years Later Students and faculty help a Michigan battle site earn national park status


M


ilitary history buffs know that “Remember the


Raisin!” is one of the most famous battle cries from the War of 1812—America’s second war for independence. Now, thanks in part to


students and faculty from Eastern’s historic preservation program, the celebrated Monroe battlefield that inspired that rally cry will be protected and preserved forever. At a special dedication


ceremony last October, the 45-acre River Raisin National Battlefield Park officially joined the National Park System (NPS). Spearheaded by Rep. John Dingell and Sen. Carl Levin, the site is now properly memorialized and protected against further development. The NPS has nearly 400 properties across the country. In Michigan, the park joins the Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore, Pictured Rocks, Keweenaw Historical Park and Isle Royale. “It’s important to recognize


significant sites like the River Raisin battlefield at a national level,” says Ted Ligibel, director of the historic preservation program. “The battle fought there resulted in the biggest loss of American lives in the War of 1812. The outrage American soldiers expressed about the massacre inspired the ‘remember’ phrasing, long before ‘Remember the Alamo.’ The River Raisin conflict was a turning point in the war.” In January 1813, British


soldiers formed an alliance with Native Americans to capture Frenchtown, a settlement held by American troops in what


The River Raisin battlefield, now a national park in Monroe, played a significant role in the War of 1812— America’s second war for independence from Great Britain.


is currently Monroe. British forces routed the Americans while native fighters scalped the wounded, burned their bodies and set the settlement aflame. Of the 1,000 American soldiers, only 33 escaped death or capture. It takes a tremendous


amount of documentation for a site to achieve national park status. Eastern students began studying the River Raisin location in 1998 when they researched an abandoned paper mill built there in 1911. “We like to involve our


historic preservation students in important projects within the community,” Ligibel says. “They documented the abandoned


mill, knowing that it would be gone one day. The mill was torn down within the last five years to reveal the original battle site, which helped make the case for joining the NPS. The site looks much the way it did in 1813.” Eastern students continued


their work, compiling infor– mation that could be used to secure the NPS designation. The students also helped uncover part of the original Frenchtown settlement and some historic artifacts. Their efforts supplemented ongoing work by the Monroe County Historical Society and the city of Monroe. Later, the historical society


hired Ligibel; Jeff Green (BS78), interim planning director


for the City of Monroe; Bill Rutter (MS91), a preservation consultant; and G. Michael Pratt, a faculty member from Heidelberg University’s Center for Historic Archaeology as project consultants. Green and Rutter are EMU historic preservation program graduates. “The students did the


background research and documentation. As consultants, we finessed their work into the kind of document the park service needed for the designation,” Ligibel says. “This was an incredible opportunity for students to learn how to document a site and how to achieve national park status. It also provided students an understanding of what it’s like to work in the profession. We were honored to be part of the process.”


—Jeff Samoray


8 Eastern | WINTER 2011


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