MONROE - A few dozen re-enactors braved last weekend s winter weather to commemorate a slaughter that happened 191 years ago and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people along the banks of the River Raisin.
The solemn service for the victims of what became known as the River Raisin Massacre was relatively modest.
But organizers of the event, as well as dozens from similar annual commemorations that stretch from Canada to New York to New Orleans, know that the clock is ticking on an important anniversary.
Plans are under way to mark the bicentennial of the War of 1812 eight years from now. Organizers struggle for ways to draw attention to “The Forgotten War” that played so important a role in the history of southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio.
“It s obvious that a few people are starting to think about it,” said Matt Switlik, director of the Monroe County Historical Museum, which operates the River Raisin Battlefield Visitor s Center on East Elm Avenue in Monroe. “I don t think it s too early to start planning.”
Last year, Dr. William Anderson, director of Michigan s Department of History, Arts, and Libraries, told several hundred people gathered at Monroe County Community College that the upcoming anniversary could become a “lynchpin” for drawing cultural tourists to the area for decades to come.
“The War of 1812 represents another major opportunity for us of international significance that transcends most of the other destinations that we have [in Michigan],” Dr. Anderson said.
Dr. Anderson said linking Monroe s battlefield with similar sites - Ft. Mackinac and Ft. Michilimackinac, Ft. Meigs in Perrysburg, Put-In-Bay, and sites in the Niagara Falls area - that all played pivotal roles in the war, presents tremendous economic opportunities.
But so far, planning for the inevitable bicentennial commemoration of the war that gave the United States its national anthem and a lasting peace with its neighbor to the north, is only in its infancy.
“We ve started our strategic planning at this point,” said Ron Dale, superintendent of Niagara National Historic Sites for Parks Canada.
Mr. Dale said efforts are just beginning to coordinate what might be a three-year-long string of bicentennial commemorations on both sides of the world s longest unprotected border.
“We re networking with everyone on the U.S. and Canadian side. Eight years out is time to start getting everyone thinking on the same wavelength, so that by the time we re five years out, we can have a solid plan put together,” Mr. Dale said.
He admitted the scale of the task ahead is daunting, given that the War of 1812 lasted for three years, involved fighters from several different nations, and stretched from Canada to New Orleans.
“It really needs to be a bi-national thing, a bi-national agreement to celebrate the War of 1812.
That will make [private] fund-raising a little easier, if that official stamp from both governments is put upon it,” Mr. Dale said.
Another problem facing commemoration organizers is that the War of 1812 isn t as popular with historic re-enactors as other wars.
At most, Mr. Dale estimated, there are probably 700 or 800 re-enactors who portray characters or soldiers from that time period.
Instead, he believes those who coordinate historical sites should plan only a few large battle re-enactments and consider “importing” Napoleonic War re-enactors from Europe to take part in the festivities.
First Published January 22, 2004, 1:15 p.m.
