:''Raisin River redirects here, for a Canadian river with the same name, see
Raisin River (Ontario)

Boats on the River Raisin just downstream from Monroe, Michigan
The 'River Raisin' is a
river in southeastern
Michigan,
United States that flows through
glacial sediments into
Lake Erie. The area today is an
agricultural and
industrial center of Michigan. The river was named by
French explorers who noted the wild
grapes growing along its banks, since the French word for grape is ''raisin''.
During the winter of
1813 as part of the
War of 1812, a battle occurred near the river between
British and
Native American troops under the command of British General
Henry Proctor and Native American chief
Tecumseh, and a small division of
Kentucky militia under command of General
James Winchester. Greatly outnumbered and facing total slaughter, Winchester surrendered with British assurances of safety of the prisoners, but in a few days they were massacred and scalped by the Native Americans without British intervention. The massacre was
only ended by the return to the area of Tecumseh, who had been away. He then proceeded to admonish the British officers for allowing such behavior.
The
Massacre of the River Raisin became a rallying cry ("Remember the Raisin") particularly for Kentuckians, and American troops returned in the spring to drive the British from Michigan forever. The original battlefield is now a park in
Monroe, Michigan and has a monument to the Kentucky soldiers who died there.
The river has been badly polluted by industrial wastes and agricultural runoff. While cleanup efforts have mitigated some of the
pollution, there remains a problem with difficult-to-remove
PCBs. Environmental authorities advise people not to eat
fish from the river, particularly below the outlet of the
Ford Motor Company plant.
The river has many small dams to control water flow. Most of the dams are in Monroe with the most significant one being located in Dundee.