Benjamin Franklin Graves (1771–1813)[1] was a politician and military leader in early 19th-century Kentucky. During the War of 1812, Graves served as a major in the 2nd Battalion, 5th Kentucky Volunteer regiment.[1][2] Together with other officers, he commanded Kentucky troops in the Battle of Frenchtown (also known as the Battle of the River Raisin) on January 22, 1813, in Michigan Territory. This was part of an effort by Americans to take the British-controlled fort at Detroit, Fort Shelby. This battle had the highest number of American fatalities in the war: of 1,000 American troops, nearly 400 were killed in the conflict, and 547 were taken prisoner.[3] The next day an estimated 30-100 Americans were killed by Native Americans after having surrendered.
Graves was among the Americans known to be taken by the Potawatomi on a forced march to the British fort at Detroit, Michigan. He is believed to have died on the march, as he disappeared from the historic record. Because so many men of the Kentucky elite were lost in the Battle of Frenchtown, it has been commemorated in the state. Graves is included among the officers memorialized on Kentucky's Military Monument to All Wars in the state capital of Frankfort and Kentucky's Graves County was named in his honor.
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