Remember the Raisin!

continued

For the United States and Britain, the war ended in a draw. The Native Americans were the undisputed losers. It wasn't just their military defeat--as Jared Diamond points out in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, they were defenseless against the diseases brought by the Europeans. Soon after the battle, the Macon Reserve was struck by an epidemic. A native cemetery there is marked by a boulder near where the Saline, Macon, and Raisin rivers join.

In the Smithsonian magazine in June, a park staffer admitted that, compared to the Civil War, few remember the War of 1812. "In the fight for memory," he said, "we're like a few guys with flintlocks going up against Robert E. Lee's army."

But the guys with flintlocks aren't giving up. There will be big doings at the park for the bicentennial this month. A full day of activities is scheduled for Saturday the 19th, with historical presentations, uniformed re-enactors, and a memorial ceremony at the Kentucky Monument.   

[Originally published in January, 2013.]