THE CHESAPEAKE CAMPAIGNS 1813–15 · 2017. 8. 16. · 5 The Chesapeake, the grandest and safest...

SCOTT S. SHEADS ILLUSTRATED BY GRAHAM TURNER

THE CHESAPEAKE CAMPAIGNS 1813–15

© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com

CAMPAIGN 259

THE CHESAPEAKE CAMPAIGNS 1813–15Middle ground of the War of 1812

SCOTT SHEADS ILLUSTRATED BY GRAHAM TURNER Series editor Marcus Cowper


CONTENTS

ORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN 5

CHRONOLOGY 8

OPPOSING COMMANDERS 10

OPPOSING FORCES 16

OPPOSING PLANS 27

1812: THE OPENING OF HOSTILITIES 30

1813: YEAR OF DEPREDATIONS 34

THE LAST CAMPAIGN: 1814–15 52

AFTERMATH 90

THE BATTLEFIELDS TODAY 92

BIBLIOGRAPHY 94

INDEX 95


DC

MARYLAND

PENNSYLVANIA

MARYLAND

DELAWARE

VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA

Tangier Is.

Spesutie Is.

Kent Is.

SusquehannaRiver

NEW JERSEY

Georgetown

Alexandria

A T L A N T I C

O C E A N

DELAWARE

BAY

N

20 miles

20km

0

0

Bladensburg

Upper Marlboro

Benedict

Lower Marlboro

Patuxent River

Whitehaven

CambridgeEast New Market

Easton

Madison

St. Michaels

Queenstown

Georgetown

Fredericktown

Frenchtown

Red Lion

Wilmington

PrincipioFurnace

Havre-de-Grace

Baltimore

Elkton

Centreville

Church HillRock Hall

Caulk’s FieldChestertown

Snow Hill

KinsalePoint Lookout

Fort Washington

Tappahannock

Annapolis

Potomac River

CH

ES

AP

EA

KE

B

AY

Patuxent River

The Chesapeake Bay, 1812–15


5

The Chesapeake, the grandest and safest estuary belonging to this or to any other nation including its numerous and extensive rivers, affords, perhaps, a greater extent of inland navigation, and facilities intercourse ever a finer territory than any other bay of the whole world.

The American Farmer, October 27, 1826

“A very Goodly Bay,” were the journal words of Captain John Smith when he sailed up the Chesapeake in 1607. Along the shores he found Native Americans who inhabited the bay and named it “Chesepiooc,” which has various meanings including: “the great river in which fish with hard shell covering abound;” “Big River;” or “Great Shell Bay.” It would be this estuary, the largest in North America, which would be the middle ground in the struggle between the Canadian frontier and the southern coasts during the War of 1812.

Beginning at the Susquehanna River to the north the bay stretches for 200 miles to the Atlantic with a width varying from 3 to 30 miles and an average depth 46ft with a maximum of 208ft. More than 150 rivers and streams feed into the bay, and these resources fed the region and supplied timber, fresh water and bountiful game for both Maryland and Virginia as well as the Royal Navy who would occupy the bay from 1813 to 1815. These many rivers also allowed passage for the barges of Royal Marines, sailors and soldiers during lengthy Chesapeake campaigns.

The War of 1812 was the culmination of the struggle for the North American continent that had begun during the French and Indian War (1754–63), continued in the American Revolution (1775–83) and now the War of 1812, a vast regional struggle to preserve the sovereignty of the young nation on the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake and the southern coasts to New Orleans.

Europe’s Napoleonic Wars had brought conflict to the seas, and America’s maritime interests began to suffer. The trade restrictions of 1807–11 were a series of acts of both the Jefferson and then Madison administrations that restricted US trade to foreign ports. The acts were enacted in response to the British Orders Council and French decrees restricting neutral trade with Europe. Both administrations hoped the acts would force the European belligerents to reduce or end their restrictions on US trade. They failed to achieve this end. Although intended to punish England for her violations of American maritime rights, the US restrictions also caused extensive protests in New England and the Chesapeake region.

ORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN


6

Adding further insult to injury was the threat to national sovereignty caused by the Royal Navy’s policy of impressments of sailors to man her ships, stopping American ships and seizing sailors on the high seas – often British citizens and deserters, but by no means exclusively. This issue came to the fore on June 22, 1807 in the attack upon the USS Chesapeake (38) by HMS Leopard (38) when the latter was attempting to search the former for British deserters. This breach of neutrality against a US warship nearly brought America to open war with Great Britain before 1812. Maryland and Virginia both summoned volunteers while the federal government authorized new coastal fortifications at Norfolk (forts Nelson and Norfolk), Annapolis (forts Madison and Severn), the Potomac River (Fort Washington) and Baltimore (Fort McHenry).

On June 16, 1812 Great Britain finally suspended the controversial “Orders”, with the understanding that the US would repeal its Non-Importation Act of 1811. It was too late, with the fledgling United States declaring war two days later unaware of the change in British stance. War preparations were already well underway and the Madison administration was looking “onward to Canada.”

The early American campaigns of the War of 1812 had ended in failure, notably the invasion of Canada in 1812. The American strategy during this campaign consisted of a three-pronged invasion. The first assault in the east was led by General Henry Dearborn; the second in the center at the Niagara in New York by General Stephen Van Rensselaer; and the third to the west at Detroit by General William Hull. The campaigns ended in disaster, caused primarily by poor leadership, compounded in the east by the refusal of the Massachusetts and Connecticut militia to cross the border – a considerable frustration for the Madison administration.

However, despite these setbacks a series of naval victories over the mighty Royal Navy both gave the fledgling US Navy its first heroes and bolstered the Madison administration politically. On October 18 the sloop of war USS Wasp defeated HMS Frolic (22 guns), though the Wasp was captured the same day by the ship of the line HMS Poictiers. This unfortunate affair was

recovered by the f r igate USS United States’ defeat of HMS Macedonian on October 25 and that of the frigate USS Constitution over the frigate HMS Java on December 29. These victories enabled Madison to win a second term of office and prepare him for the coming invasions of 1813–14.

House. Etc., at Annapolis the

Columbian Magazine, February

1789. From here Governor

Winder’s Military Council

directed the war effort.

(Maryland State Archives,

Special Collections (Thomas

Bon Collection) Charles Willson

194-01-0003)


7

The Chesapeake region avoided any severe impact from the war in 1812, but the naval blockade imposed by the Royal Navy, coupled with the arrival of increasing numbers of reinforcements in 1813 and especially following the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the bay provided the setting for an escalating number of battles, skirmishes, raids and naval engagements. For two years the Chesapeake, then the political and geographic heartland of America, was held hostage by overwhelming British naval and military superiority. Like the rest of the nation, Maryland and Virginia were politically and militarily unprepared for the war. They had no means of effectively meeting a powerful foe – no adequate defense policy and an inexperienced militia, while the internal politics reflected both the federal lack of readiness to face a foreign invasion and the internal conflict over the very decision to go to war itself.

Nowhere was this more obvious than in the region’s principal centre, the city of Baltimore. Already in the 1790s Baltimore was a thriving seaport with European trade exports and imports rivaling those of New England and the south. It was incorporated in 1797 and by 1810 had a population of 45,000. In June 1812 the political wrangling over the conflict exploded into a popular outburst in the city, aimed squarely at Alexander C. Hanson (1786–1819), publisher of the Federal Republican. The newspaper was a federalist paper that voiced distain for the Madison administration and Hanson’s editorials soon incurred the wrath of Madison’s Democratic-Republicans. On June 22, an angry mob smashed Hanson’s presses and razed his building, forcing him to flee to Georgetown outside Washington. When Hanson returned to Baltimore and printed a further diatribe against the war on June 27 the mob returned and tried to break into the new premises. The militia that attended to the scene refused to enforce order and, instead, the besieged printer and his friends were taken to the Baltimore City Jail in protective custody. However, the mob broke in and savagely beat, tarred and feathered Hanson and his followers resulting in the death of a veteran of the Revolution James McCubbin Lingan (1751–1812), while the renowned Revolutionary War general Henry “Light Horse” Lee (1756–1818), father of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, was another victim.

Despite his personal opposition to the war policies of the Madison administration, Maryland Governor Levin Winder was well aware of the potential threat to his State’s security and made repeated requests for federal assistance. Realizing Maryland must rely on its own resources, Winde r r e l u c t an t l y expressed, “the means of defense reserved in the State government are very limited … the law of self preservation, which belongs to communities as well as individuals … as our resources are very limited to afford complete protection.”

satirical political cartoon

illustrating the point of the

federalist activities at Baltimore

were planned at Montgomery

County, Maryland, the seat of

Alexander C. Hanson, editor of

the Federal Republican.

(Maryland Historical Society)

d


8

During the Chesapeake campaigns 200 documented naval and military actions occurred at hundreds of sites associated with the war. Listed here are selected primary skirmishes, battles and events and by no means reflect the full inventory. For a complete listing see The War on the Chesapeake: A Reference Guide to Historic Sites in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

1807

June 22 HMS Leopard attacks US frigate Chesapeake off the Virginia Capes.

1812

June 18 US declares war on Great Britain.

June 22 Baltimore mob attacks the offices of the Federal Republican.

July 12 First five American privateers leave Baltimore.

July 24 14th US Infantry, recruited in Maryland, leaves for Canada.

October 12 England declares war on US.

December 26 England proclaims a blockade of the Chesapeake and Delaware bays.

1813

February 5 British blockade the Chesapeake.

February 8 British capture privateer Lottery in Lynnhaven Bay, Va.

February 14 British raid Cape Henry Lighthouse, Va.

March 3 Rear-Admiral Cockburn arrives in the Chesapeake Bay area.

April 3 British capture privateers Lynx, Racer, Arab and Dolphin.

April 29 British attack Frenchtown, White Hall, Elk River, Md.

May 3 British attack Havre-de-Grace, Md.

May 5 British attack Fredericktown and Georgetown, Md.

May 26 Admiral Warren extends US naval blockade from New York to New Orleans.

June 22–25 British attack Craney Island and Hampton, Va.

July 14 British capture US schooner Asp, Yeocomico River, Va.

August 3 British raid Kinsale, Va.

August 5–24 British occupy Kent Island, Eastern Shore, Md.

August 10 British attack St. Michaels, Eastern Shore, Md.

CHRONOLOGY


9

August 13 British attack Queenstown, Eastern Shore, Md.

August 26 British attack St. Michaels, Eastern Shore, Md.

1814

January 25 Vice-Admiral Cochrane assumes command of the North American Station.

April 25 Vice-Admiral Cochrane declares a blockade of the US coast from Maine to Georgia.

June 1 British attack US Flotilla, Cedar Point, Md.

June 10 First battle, St. Leonard’s Creek, Md.

June 26 Second battle, St. Leonard’s Creek, Md.

July 20–22 British raid Nomini Creek, Va.

August 3 British raid Mundy’s Creek and Kinsale, Va.

August 7 British raid Coan Island, Va.

August 19 British troops land at Benedict, Md.

August 22 US Chesapeake Flotilla scuttled at Pig Point, Patuxent River, Md.

August 24 The Battle of Bladensburg, Md.

August 27 US Forces destroy Ft. Washington, Md., the British occupy it.

August 28 British raid Fairlee Creek, Eastern Shore, Md.

August 31 The battle of Caulk’s Field, Eastern Shore, Md.

September 1–5 British capture Alexandria, Va.

September 12 The battle of North Point, Md.

September 13–14 British bombard Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md.

October 4–5 British raid Yeocomico and Coan rivers, Va.

December 2 British raid Tappahannock, Va.

December 6 British skirmish at North Farnham Church, Va.

December 7 British raid Urbanna, Va.

December 11–13 British abandon Tangier Island, Va.

1815

February 7 The battle of the Ice Mound, Eastern Shore, Md.

February 13 Treaty of Ghent arrives at Annapolis, Md.

February 17 Congress ratifies the Treaty of Ghent.

April 19 HMS Menelaus, last British warship, leaves the Chesapeake Bay.


10

AMERICAN COMMANDERS

Major-General Samuel Smith (1752–1839) had served as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution before serving as a State Senator for Maryland. At the time of the threatened war with France in 1795, he was appointed brigadier-general of the Maryland militia and had also served in the Whiskey Rebellion. At the time of the War of 1812 he was an experienced commander aged 66, and his defensive skills and organizational leadership in 1813 contributed to Baltimore’s survival in 1814. Following the American defeat at Bladensburg in August 1814, he assumed command of Baltimore’s defenses as commander-in-chief.

Brigadier-General John Stricker (1758–1825) was the son of Revolutionary War veteran Colonel George Stricker, and he himself had served under his father’s

OPPOSING COMMANDERS

Major-General Samuel Smith

Carlisle, Pa., and served as a

lieutenant-colonel in the

Revolutionary War and a

general during the 1794

Whiskey Rebellion. He

commanded Baltimore’s

defense during the war.

(Library of Congress)


11

command. In May 1813 he had Patapsco Neck and Baltimore surveyed which prepared him for the defense of Baltimore. His 3rd Brigade was the finest and best disciplined militia brigade, an aggregate of 3,000 men who fought an aggressive defensive strategy at North Point on September 12, 1814.

Major George Armistead (1780–1818) was from one of Virginia’s most prominent military families. He entered the US Army in 1799, served at Fort Niagara as military agent (1801–06), Fort Pickering, the Arkansas Territorial Governor (1807–08), Fort McHenry (1809–12); and as senior artillery officer at Fort Niagara (1812–13) where he carried the captured British flags to Washington. In June 1813 he received command of Fort McHenry where he served until his death in April 1818. His physical exertions during the bombardment caused him to pass command briefly to Commodore John Rodgers, USN.

Brigadier-General William H. Winder (1775–1824) returned to Washington to command the new 10th Military District of Maryland, District of Columbia and south to the Rappahannock River, Virginia. With virtually no military command experience nor logistical and official support from Secretary of War John Armstrong, Winder tried to rally support for the defense of the capital during the summer of 1814, but it was too late. In the end Winder stated “the slow progress of the draft and the imperfect organization with the ineffectiveness of the laws to compel [the militia] to turn out.” It is said that he received his position as a result of the political importance of his uncle Governor Winder. He ultimately failed to halt or distress the British advance and retreat from Washington. When the British arrived at Bladensburg, Winder found the administration – even the President

BELOW LEFT

Brigadier-General John Stricker

descent, served during the

Revolutionary War at the

battles of Princeton (1777),

Brandywine (1777) and

Monmouth (1778). On

September 12, 1814, he

commanded Baltimore’s 3rd

Brigade at the battle of North

Point. (Maryland Historical

Society)

BELOW RIGHT

Lieutenant-Colonel George

commanded the defense of

Fort McHenry on September

lieutenant-colonel for its

successful defense. He was the

uncle of Brig. Gen. Lewis A.

Armistead, CSA, who led a

Virginia brigade at Gettysburg.



12

and his cabinet – assigning troop positions in a way

that only increased the disarray for an effective

defense. Winder’s strategy to prepare the capital region and his subsequent d e f e a t a t Bladensburg on August 24 led to Maj. Gen. Samuel Smith receiving command o f Bal t imore on

August 25, with Winder left to

command the federal forts and regulars.Commodore Joshua

Barney, having served in the Revolution, joined the French Navy

where he reached his rank of commodore during his brief service. In 1812, he obtained a letter of marque and reprisal for his privateer Rossie, one of the most successful privateers during the war. In August 1813, he organized and commanded the US Chesapeake Flotilla that became the naval nemesis of Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn during the summer of 1814 in the southern Chesapeake–Patuxent campaigns.

BELOW LEFT

Commodore Joshua Barney

of

Maryland’s naval heroes during

the Revolution and the War of

1812, serving as commander of

the US Chesapeake Flotilla. His

son Major William B. Barney

reconnoitered southern

Maryland and gathered

important intelligence.

(Independence National

Historical Park, NPS)

BELOW RIGHT

Brigadier-General Robert

Leesburg, Va., was described as

the war, commanded the

defense of Craney Island, Va.

on June 22, 1813. (Virginia

Historical Society)

Brigadier-General William Henry

was the

nephew of Maryland Governor

Levin Winder. As a colonel in

1812 he led the 14th US Infantry

into Canada and was captured at

the battle of Stoney Creek, NY, in

July 1813 and was paroled on

July 1, 1814. (Library of Congress)

abpoon

arreftrtha

cB

AuWimman

mmviedRevolution, joine

where he reached his rank of commodore during his brhe obtained a letter of marque and reprisal for his privh f l d h

and his catroop p

that disa

des

AW

comforts aCom

Barney, havRevolution joine


13

BRITISH COMMANDERS

Royal NavyThe Royal Navy in the Chesapeake Bay from 1812 to 1814 was commanded by Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren (1753–1822), an elderly naval administrator tactician who was acquainted with the American coast having served as a captain during the American Revolution.

In 1796, Warren was conspicuous in the naval actions against French merchant trade and saw action in several naval encounters. From 1807 to 1809 he served as commander-in-chief of the North American Station, then in 1810 was appointed Admiral of the Blue. In August 1812 he was appointed to the Halifax, Leeward Islands and Jamaica naval stations that had been unified to allow Warren to implement an overall naval strategy along the North American coast. His initial orders were to negotiate an end to the war with the United States through US Secretary of State James Monroe.

The previous British Orders in Council of 1807, 1809 and June 23, 1812 had already been withdrawn further, however when the United States declared war on June 18, 1812. On July 31, Warren lifted the embargo and detention of all American ships with a proposal of “the immediate cessation of hostilities of all American ships.” By the fall of 1812 American privateers were having their destructive effect upon English merchantmen with considerable losses. For the United States, negotiations for any peaceful settlement had failed.

In April 1814, following the defeat of Napoleon during the Russian campaign, Warren was relieved by the more aggressive and effectual Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane (1758–1832) as overall naval commander for the final campaign in the Chesapeake from March 1814 to February 1815. He had, like his predecessor, served as a young officer during the American Revolution and, for what would be the final campaign of the war, Cochrane initiated a series of raids with a rapid naval build-up for a more aggressive strategy than Warren’s. He authorized the naval-military campaign of 1814, though he was more cautious than his subordinates Major-Genera l Ross and Rear-Admiral Cockburn.

Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren

commanded the

British naval forces in the

left Rear-Admiral Sir George

Cockburn to carry out his

orders. An American newspaper

informed its readers that

with the olive branch in one

hand and the sword in the

Museum, Greenwich, England)

Rear-Admiral Sir George

known for his ruthlessness in

raiding the bay tidewaters and

destroying or capturing over

200 merchant vessels, as well as

being the co-architect for the

burning of Washington.

(National Maritime Museum,

Greenwich, London)


14

During the 1813 Chesapeake campaign the squadron of the North American Station was commanded by Admiral Warren, and then by Vice-Admiral Cochrane. In April 1814 the fleet was divided into three squadrons with Rear-Admira l s Edward Codrington, Pulteney Malcolm and George Cockburn commanding the naval divisions of the red, white or blue of their respective squadrons. By 1814 the North American and West Indies stations consisted of 22 ships-of-the-line, 43 frigates, 27 sloops, 34 brigs and nine schooners, a total of 135 ships.

Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn (1772–1853) was a protégé of Lord Nelson and had served as captain at the battle of St Vincent in 1801. In 1812, he reached the rank of rear admiral

of the Red and was ordered to the Chesapeake in the spring of 1813. Initially serving Admiral Warren as second in command, Cockburn conducted a series of raids to disrupt American commerce. Later, under Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane in 1814, he recruited a Corps of Colonial Marines from the bay’s black refugees to garrison the British possessions in the area. His wanton destruction of property was unrivaled, prompting an American editorial to record: “Cockburn stood, like Satan on his cloud when he saw the blood of man murdered Abel first crimson the earth, exulting at the damning deed; treating the suppliant females with the rudest curses and most vile appellations – callous, insensible, [and] hellish.” His expeditions made him the most hated British officer in the Chesapeake region.

British ArmyBrevet Colonel Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith (1772–1831) entered the Army in 1791, serving in India and on the expedition against Copenhagen in 1807 before joining Wellington in the Peninsula campaigns. In 1812 he was appointed assistant quartermaster general of the British forces in Canada and in 1813 was assigned to the Chesapeake with an infantry regiment consisting of two battalions of ill-disciplined Independent Companies of Foreigners.

Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander

veteran of Trafalgar, his

administrative skills would give

the Americans a complete

drubbing before peace. On

April 2, 1814, he extended the

naval blockade of the entire

coast of America from New

England to New Orleans.


Greenwich, London)


15

Repulsed at the battle of Craney Island in 1813, he subsequently captured Hampton, Virginia, where the brutal behavior of the troops under his command caused outrage.

Major-General Robert Ross (1776–1814) was a veteran of Wellington’s campaign in Spain, Egypt, Italy and other campaigns. Assigned to America in June 1814, he commanded the Washington–Baltimore military operations and shared with Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn the honor of being the co-arsonist of the burning of Washington. At Baltimore he led the initial assault at the battle of North Point on September 12, 1814 and received a mortal wound prior to the main engagement. Like Beckwith, Maj. Gen. Ross had instructions outlining the limits of his duties and relationship with the naval services. Once the land and naval services were ashore the ranking military officer assumed command.

Colonel Arthur Brooke (1772–1843) entered the Army as an ensign in the 44th Regiment in 1792 and saw service through the Egyptian campaign of 1801, obtaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1804 and becoming a colonel during the Peninsular War in 1813. Ordered to the Chesapeake in June 1814, he served under Maj. Gen. Ross. On August 24 Brooke commanded the 44th Regiment during its successful assault at Bladensburg, Maryland. At the battle of North Point on September 12, Brooke assumed command following the death of Ross. He subsequently served at the battle of New Orleans in 1815 under Major-General Sir Edward Pakenham, who had replaced Ross and who was killed in action on the fields of Chalmette Plantation.

BELOW LEFT

Major-General Robert Ross

born in

Rostrevor, Ireland, and

commanded the combined

naval and military British forces

Baltimore campaigns of 1814.

He was killed on September 12,

1814, in a skirmish prior to the

battle of North Point. (René

Chartrand)

BELOW RIGHT

Brevet Colonel Sir Thomas

1831) led the failed June 1813

expedition against Craney

Island and subsequent

successful attacks on Hampton,

Va., and Queenstown on

Maryland’s Eastern Shore. In

September he returned to

Halifax with the Independent

Companies of Foreigners.

(Royal Green Jackets Rifles

Museum, UK)


16

AMERICAN FORCES

MilitiaUnder the Federal Militia Act of 1792, individual States were able to conscript every free, white, able-bodied male between the ages of 18 and 45 into a local force, which could be summoned for federal service by the President in the case of dire emergency. In the case of the War of 1812 the quote of militia

required by the States of Maryland and Virginia was 6,000 and 12,000 respectively. The military counsels of both States’ governors issued hundreds of militia commissions to “our most Active, Intelligent, Patriotic and Spirited young Citizens.”

The militia was divided into three classes: the “Minor” for all citizens between 18 and 21 years; the “Junior” between 21 and 31; and the “Senior” between the ages of 31 and 45. The Minors, who were “young and Active men, full of vigor and without care”, would serve in the field and those of the Senior class who had families would not be compelled to leave their homes except in cases of extreme emergency.

In January 1812, Maryland passed An Act to Regulate and Discipline the Militia of This State. Citizens were required to drill quarterly at a rendezvous such as a farm or the town green, where taverns would provide suitable food and drink afterwards. At Fort McHenry, full regiments and brigades would also be paraded before general officers.

Maryland’s four armories were at Baltimore, Frederick, Easton, and Annapolis, with the latter served as a clearing-house for the nation’s largest arms dealers, Henry Deringer and Thomas Ennis & Company of Philadelphia, as well as independent contractors. On the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, the US Arsenal along with Virginia’s Harpers Ferry provided the necessary arms, equipage and uniforms for the federal forces and coastal fortifications.

Militia companies often specifically sought names that tied them to their region or political ties, and examples included “The True Blues of America,” the “Plymouth Guns,” “Easton Infantry Blues,” “Hole in the Wall,” “Hearts of Oak,” and the “St. Michaels Patriotic Blues.” From western Maryland came Captain Thomas Quantrill’s “Hagerstown Homespun Volunteers” rifle company and the “Fredericktown Blues.” Captain Philip F. Raisin’s Maryland “Chestertown Independent Volunteers” stood before their neighbors to receive their color standard,

OPPOSING FORCES

A lieutenant in the Maryland

Militia Artillery, 1812. Maryland

uniform regulations for artillery

faced with red, red collar and

cuffs, yellow buttons, blue

pantaloons, [white for summer]

black gaiters or half boots and

Rocco, National Park Service)


17

emblazoned with the Latin motto “Virtus, libertas, et natale solumn” (Virtue, Liberty, and our Native Land). The Irish Union Greens of Baltimore were organized “to afford the sons of the shamrock an opportunity of chastising the myrmidons of England.”

Despite the lack of federal troops in Maryland and Virginia, the militia contributed if only for brief periods with limited resources against British veterans. The militia fought at the battles of Craney Island, Urbanna, Queenstown, St. Michaels, Caulk’s Field and North Point. Bladensburg would be the exception, reflecting an ill-fated lack of defense policy, an inadequate militia and an administration that looked upon Canada and not the Chesapeake. By August 1814 it was too late.

The citizen-soldiers of the Chesapeake consisted of farmers, tradesmen, watermen and the veterans of the War of Independence, while gentry officers began to organize, arm and equip themselves. The Maryland militia was organized into three divisions, 12 brigades and 51 regiments, along with 11 cavalry districts.

Each soldier was to have a good rifle or musket, a bayonet and belt, haversack, two spare flints and a cartridge box. Many wore their regimental uniforms, while others wore homespun hunting frocks. Despite their inexperience, they performed late 18th-century tactics in which armies marched in columns, as well as cavalry reconnaissance, skirmishes, forming lineal battle lines supported by artillery in the center, reserves replacing fallen comrades, or maneuvers for a orderly retreat and how to mark order along the lines with company colors. To the rear, surgeons and stewards waited upon the wounded. A veteran witnessed the Maryland militia drill noting, “that the officers displayed a large stock of military tactics, and the soldiery was silent, watchful of the word of command, and emulous in the performance of their duty, I have seen British regular troops wheel worse than this company.”

Unlike Maryland’s militia organization, Virginia had four divisions, 21 brigades and 119 regiments. While the Chesapeake made up Maryland’s entire tidewater region, Virginia’s 4th Division represented the coastal waters of the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, James and Piankatank rivers and bore the brunt for the defense of the Eastern tidewater, especially in the fall of 1814.

Field artillery equipage consisted of 4-, 6-, and 12-pdr pieces, while hand weapons included the American 1808 Springfield and French Charleville muskets and hunting rifles. Military councils for Virginia and Maryland acquired their weaponry for the State armories from regional and US arms contractors. On three occasions Virginia militia crossed the Potomac into Maryland and fought at Bladensburg (August 24, 1814), Tracy’s Landing, Herring Bay (October 31, 1814) and Baltimore (September 12–15, 1814).

Federal troopsThe US Navy undertook the protection of the lower Chesapeake Bay area by raising a unique force – the US Chesapeake Flotilla. This was a force raised

This canteen belonged to

Private Asa Waters of Captain

George H. Steuart’s Washington

Blues, the 5th Maryland

Regiment, which fought at the

battles of Bladensburg on

August 24 and North Point on

September 12, 1814. (Ralph E.

Eshelman)

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nd r

hy ,

d of an the

tedthe

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et natale e Irish ord

ng

of e War rganize, s organized


18

under the command of the privateer Captain Joshua Barney to protect the bay. It consisted of the cutter Scorpion, row galley USS Vigilant, schooner Asp, US gunboats No. 137, 138 and 13 barges deployed in an effort to prevent British forces from landing. While the US frigate Constellation lay blockaded at Norfolk, US gunboats guarded the ports of Norfolk and Baltimore, and American privateersmen such as Thomas Boyle continued to harass British trade, inflicting an acute economic depression upon British maritime industry.

The federal garrisons of forts Norfolk and Nelson in Virginia, forts Severn and Madison in Annapolis and Washington on the Potomac were well armed with 18-, 32 and 24-pdr Gribeauval garrison carriages. Baltimore’s own Fort McHenry, the bulwark of the region’s naval defense mounted 60 guns consisting of a variety of 18-, 24, 32-, and 36-pdrs.

When it came to regular infantry, in 1813 Congress authorized the raising of the 36th and 38th US Infantry Regiments for the defense of Maryland, and these regiments later served in the Patuxent River, Bladensburg and Baltimore campaigns the following year. This evidently was to calm Maryland’s concern of not having any federal presence in the field.

BRITISH FORCES

British ArmyColonel Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith in 1813 and Major-General Robert Ross in 1814 were both detached from Wellington’s campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula and given specific orders by the War Office “to effect a diversion on the coast of the United States of America in favor of Upper Canada and

Lower Canada … the object of the expedition is to harass the Enemy by the different attacks, you will avoid the risk of a general action.”

In 1813, Colonel Beckwith commanded two companies of undisciplined French prisoners, the Independent Companies of Foreigners, at Craney Island and Hampton (June 1813), Queenstown (August 1813) and St. Michaels (August 1813) before departing for Halifax and the Plattsburgh campaign in New York. Assisting him was Lt. Col. Charles James Napier with the 102nd Regiment – a combined force of 2,202.

Following Beckwith’s orders to return to Canada, Maj. Gen. Robert Ross replaced him and was assigned the largest military force to be deployed in the Chesapeake region. This

A French 36-pdr naval gun.

Mounted in Fort McHenry’s

shore batteries were 36 French

naval 18- and 36-pdrs

recovered in 1808 from a

disabled French ship-of-the-

line L’Eole. It would be these

guns that saved Baltimore from

the British naval offensive

aimed at breaching the harbor

defenses in September 1814.

(Ralph E. Eshelman)

A British frigate, c.1800. An

example of one of the

technologically sophisticated

naval warships that cruised the

Chesapeake during the war,

enforcing the blockade of the

Chesapeake and Delaware

bays. (National Maritime

Museum, Greenwich, London)


19

consisted of the 4th, 21st, 44th, 85th Regiments, a Corps of Colonial Marines and two battalions of Royal Marines, a total of 4,500 soldiers. A naval brigade was also attached.

Royal NavyThe British arrived in the Chesapeake on February 5, 1813 and established a base of operations on Virginia’s Tangier Island from where they organized the immense business of supplies, reinforcements and ship repairs while all the time relying on support from hundreds of miles away in Halifax, Bermuda and England. During the war, 183 known British vessels of various rates entered the Chesapeake in the largest extended naval occupation of the war.

Two specific types of Royal Naval ships bear mention here. The first is the bomb ship or ketch. Five bomb ships of the Vesuvius class, the Volcano, Etna, Terror, Devastation, and Meteor were employed during the summer of 1814 and crewed by 14 men of the Royal Marine Artillery in addition to the ship’s complement of 67. Each vessel had a 13in. and a 10in. mortar mounted on traversing turntables with 200 shells on board and more in tenders alongside.

Type Charge Range Elevation Flight time Shell (lbs.) Shell charge

13in. mortar (iron)

20lb 4200yds 45 degrees 30’ 190 10lb

10in. mortar (iron)

10lb 4000yds 45 degrees 30’ 190 4lb

HM Rocket Ship Erebus, commanded by Captain David Bartholomew (1767–1821), arrived in the Chesapeake Bay in June 1814. The Erebus was the only such vessel utilized in the Chesapeake campaign and carried the 32-pdr Congreve rockets that illuminated the bombardments of forts Washington and McHenry, “the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air.” The rockets’ namesake was Colonel Sir William Congreve (1772–1828), who in 1807 developed a rocket system with interchangeable warheads which had an unpredictable flight course but an explosive impact on their targets. The rockets were installed below the main deck and fired through scuttles pieced in the ship’s side. There were two types of rockets used: case shot was packed with 200 musket balls and had a range of 2,500 yards, while carcass was filled with between 1lb and 10lb of gunpowder and had a range of up to 3,000 yards.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE WAR OF 1812

By 1810, there were 33,927 free African-Americans in Maryland, while another 115,502 of these were enslaved. Baltimore alone had a free population of 5,671, consisting of native and West Indian blacks. In March 1813, Congress passed “An Act for the Regulation of Seamen on board the public and private vessels of the United States” to allow for their enlistment into the maritime services. Black sailors served well as maritime artisans, mechanics and as officers’ servants and were on artillery crews in several militia actions.

Serving with the British were hundreds of escaped slaves who risked their freedom by serving as pilots in the treacherous tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay, helping enormously in the British amphibious operations. Others joined the Corps of Colonial Marines. In the spring of 1814, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane issued the following proclamation:

Private William Williams. An

artist’s depiction of this

runaway slave who enlisted in

the 38th US Infantry who

Baltimore campaigns. He died

at Fort McHenry after having

his leg blown off by a bomb

fragment. (National Park

Service)


20

This is therefore to Give Notice, That all those who may be disposed to emigrate from the UNITED STATES, will, with their Families, be received on board His Majesty’s Ships or Vessels of War … when they will have their choice of either entering into His Majesty’s Sea or Land Forces, or being sent as FREE settlers to the British Possessions in North America or the West Indies, where they will meet with due encouragement.

The corps fought in numerous amphibious actions. British Captain James Ross recalled “their conduct was marked by great spirit and vivacity, and perfect obedience”.

Unlike the US Navy, federal law prohibited the enlistment of African-Americans in the US Army; however, two African American soldiers at Fort McHenry, William Williams and Michael Buzzard, are known to have served in the campaign, as are a number of other slaves in the militia battle of St. Michaels, as artillerymen.

RIGHT

British rocket launches.

Equipped with case shot,

Congreve rockets were used in

the amphibious assaults on

Havre-de-Grace, Fredericktown,

Georgetown, Queenstown and

other shore towns in the

Regions. A crew of 12 Royal

Marine Artillerymen occupied

each barge. (Library of

Congress)

BELOW

HMS Erebus (1808) was an 18-

gun Hecla-class bomb vessel,

converted in 1814 to a rocket

vessel and employed on the

North American Station arriving

in June 1814 in the

Chesapeake. Her Congreve

3,000yds. (National Maritime



21

ORDERS OF BATTLE

There were seven primary battles throughout the course of the Chesapeake campaign: Craney Island, Hampton, Queenstown,

the 1st and 2nd battles of St. Michaels, Bladensburg, and North Point. Lesser-known actions include Frenchtown, Elkton, and

Fredericktown at Georgetown. In addition to this there were numerous skirmishes and raids as both sides conducted a war of

attrition in southern Maryland and northern Virginia. The British raids were substantial in the number of forces employed. Where

regiments, battalions and companies were present many did not meet their full complement.

AMERICAN ORDERS OF BATTLE

FRENCHTOWN, MD., APRIL 29, 1813

Earthwork – four 6-pdrs

Major James Sewell, 1st Brigade

Capt. George W. Oldham (30–40)

ELKTON, MD., APRIL 29, 1813

Col. James Sewall, Cmdr. 49th Maryland Regt.

Fort Defiance/Fort Frederick; Elkton Troop, 8th Cavalry – Capt.

John Davidson

Fort Hollingsworth (Elk Landing) – Capts. John Sample’s, John R.

Evans, and Henry Bennett, five 6-pdrs, one 12-pdr

Delaware militia – Capt. George Reynold Massey

Artillery – Capt. John Evans, Sr.

HAVRE-DE-GRACE, MD., MAY 3, 1813

2nd Lt. John O’Neill (50 militia, 49th Maryland Regt.)

Potato Battery – two 6-pdrs

Concord Battery – one 18-pdr, two 9-pdrs

FREDERICKTOWN–GEORGETOWN, MD., MAY 6, 1813

Fredericktown

Lt. Col. Thomas W. Veasey, (35, 49th Maryland Regt)

Fort Duffy (earthwork) (80) – Capt. Francis Chandler, one 6-pdr

Georgetown

Pearce’s Pt. (artillery earthwork) – Capt. James Allen

CRANEY ISLAND, VA., JUNE 25, 1813

Brig. Gen. Robert B. Taylor (767)

Virginia Militia – Lt. Col. Henry Beatty (4th Virginia Rgt.)

Major Andrew Waggoner,

Capt. Thomas Robert’s Rifle Co. (31st Rgt.)

Virginia Artillery – Major James Faulkner

Capt. Arthur Emerson (Portsmouth Light Artillery) – one 6-pdr

Capt. James D. Richardson – one 24-Pdr

Lieuts. William Godwin, Parker G. Howle – two 6-pdrs,

one 24-pdr

Capt. Robert Pollard (30), 20th US Infantry from Ft. Norfolk

Capt. Samuel Shields Rifle Co. (50)

Capt. Thomas Rouke, Manhattan (merchant ship), one 18-pdr

Fort Norfolk

20th US Infantry – Edward Nelson

Fort Nelson

20th US Infantry – Capt. Constant Freeman

US Naval Forces

Capt. John Cassin

1st Gunboat Division – Lt. John M. Gardner

2nd Gunboat Division – Lt. Robert Henley

Gunboats Nos. 60, 61, 69, 71, 73, 75, 78, 134, 135, 136- SM Horace

Smith, 139, 142, 143, 149, 152, 154, 155, 176, 18-pdrs

USS Constellation crew (150) – Capt. Joseph Tarbell, Midshipman

George De La Rouche

US Marines (150), Breckenridge, USM

HAMPTON, VA., JUNE 25, 1813

Artillery

Little England Plantation Camp (62)

Capt. Brazeton E. Pryor, Lts. Lively, Jones – two 6-pdrs, four 12-

pdrs

Capt. John Goodall, US Artillery – two 6-pdrs

1st Virginia Regiment – Maj. Stapleton Crutchfield

1st Battalion – Maj. Stapleton Crutchfield

2nd Battalion – Maj. Gawin L. Corbin

Light Infantry

Capt. Samuel Shields, Lgt Infantry (30)

Capt. Reuben Herndon, Lgt. Infantry

Capt. Richard B. Servant’s Rifle Co.

James City Light Infantry Co.

85th Regiment

115th Regiment

Virginia Artillery (62)

Lt. Thomas Godwin

Capt. Nimrod Ashby

Capt. Thomas Miller

Capt. Carey

Capt. William Sclater

Cavalry (25)

Capt. John B. Cooper

ST. MICHAELS, MD., AUGUST 10 AND 26, 1813

12th Maryland Brigade – Brig. Gen. Perry Benson

4th Maryland Regiment – Lt. Col. William B. Smyth

Easton Volunteer Artillerists – Capt. Clement Vickers

Easton Light Infantry Blues – Capt. George W. Smith

Trappe Co. – Capt. Samuel Stevens, Jr.


22

26th Maryland Regiment – Lt. Col. Hugh Auld

Artillery

9th Cavalry District – Lt. Col. Edward Lloyd

two 18-pdrs

Lt. Col. William Steuart (565)

CEDAR POINT, MD., JUNE 1, 1814

US gunboats Nos. 137, 138

Row galley Vigilant,

US schooner Asp

1ST BATTLE ST. LEONARD’S CREEK, PATUXENT RIVER,

JUNE 8–10, 1814

Three 75ft Barges (50), 24-pdr, 42-pdr carronade

Four 75ft Barges (50), 18-pdr, 32-pdr

Two 50ft Barges (40), 18-pdr, 24-pdr carronade

Four 50ft Barges (40), 12-pdr, 24-pdr carronade

US gunboats Nos.137, 138

Row galley Vigilant

Lookout Boat

US schooner Asp

US Forces

Maryland Forces

2ND BATTLE ST. LEONARD’S CREEK, PATUXENT RIVER,

JUNE 26, 1814

Three 75ft Barges (50), 24-pdr, 42-pdr carronade

Four 75ft Barges (50), 18-pdr, 32-pdr

Two 50ft Barges (40), 18-pdr, 24-pdr carronade

Four 50ft Barges (40), 12-pdr, 24-pdr carronade

Land artillery batteries – Col. Decius Wadsworth, US Army

three 12-pdrs

two 18-pdrs

District of Columbia Militia (280)

Georgetown Light Artillery, six 6-pdrs

QUEENSTOWN, MD., AUGUST 13, 1813

Maj. William H. Nicholson, 38th Maryland Regiment (244)

Capts. Charles Hobbs, John Taylor, John Massey

two 6-pdrs

BLADENSBURG, MD., AUGUST 24, 1814

Brig. Gen. William Henry Winder (c.7,000)

1st Columbian Brigade – Brig. Gen. Walter Smith (1,070)

2nd Columbian Brigade – Brig. Gen. Robert Young (450)

Columbian District Cavalry – Lt. Col. John Tayloe


23

11th Maryland Brigade – Brig. Gen. Tobias E. Stansbury

1st Battalion Maryland Riflemen – Maj. William Pinkney

Fell’s Point Riflemen, Capt. William Dyer (80)

1st Regiment Maryland Volunteer Artillery

three 6-pdrs

Maryland detachments

Capt. Jeremiah Drucker’s Rifle Co. (7th Maryland Regiment) (75)

Capt. Thomas Warren’s Co., 14th Maryland Regiment (75)

Capt. John Davidson’s Union Rifles, 15th Maryland Regiment

(75)

1st Maryland Cavalry District – Lt. Colo. Frisby Tilghman

(300)

Maj. Otho Williams

Capt. Moses Tabb’s Co.

2nd Maryland Cavalry District

5th Maryland Cavalry District

Virginia Militia

US Military Forces – Lt. Col. Winfield Scott (400)

Burd (125)

US Naval Forces – Commodore Joshua Barney, US

Chesapeake Flotilla

US Chesapeake Flotilla (450), three 18-pdrs

BATTLE OF CAULK’S FIELD, MD. AUGUST 31, 1814

21st Maryland Regiment – Lt. Col. Philip Reed,

Infantry

Capt. Samuel Griffith (12)

Capt. Thomas Hynson (7)

Rifles

Capt. Samuel Wilkes (26)

Artillery

Capt. Aquila M. Usselton (21)

Capt. Beningfield Hand (29)

Capt. Ezekiel Chambers (48)

8th Cavalry District

Capt. Frederick Wilson (1)

BATTLE OF NORTH POINT, SEPTEMBER 12, 1814

3rd Brigade – Brig. Gen. John Stricker

1st Maryland Rifle Battalion – Maj. William Pinkney, Jr.

Attached

Randall

FORT MCHENRY, SEPTEMBER 13–14, 1814

Major George Armistead, US Corps Artillery

US Army

1st Maryland Volunteer Artillery

(85)

(79)

US Navy

BALTIMORE HARBOR, SEPTEMBER 13–14, 1814

Battery Babcock - Sailing Master John A. Webster, US

Chesapeake Flotilla, six 18-pdrs (75)

three 18-pdrs (521)

11 barges (400)


24

USS Java

US Sloop of War Erie – Sailing Master George De La Rouche

US Sloop of War Ontario

HAMPSTEAD HILL, SEPTEMBER 13–15, 1814

US Naval Forces

Commodore John Rodgers (300 sailors, 170 US Marines)

US Army Forces

US Light Dragoons (98)

Virginia Militia

Brig. Gen. Singleton (1,777)

Brig. Gen. Douglass (864)

Pennsylvania Militia

Col. Frailey’s Battalion, Pennsylvania militia (496)

Col. Cobean’s Battalion, Pennsylvania militia (504)

1st Regiment Maryland Artillery – Lt. Col. David Harris

Attached Maryland Artillery

5th Regiment, Maryland Cavalry

1st Rifle Battalion of Maryland

BRITISH ORDERS OF BATTLE

FRENCHTOWN, APRIL 29; ELK LANDING, APRIL

29; HAVRE-DE-GRACE, MAY 3; GEORGETOWN-

FREDERICKTOWN, MAY 5, 1813

Admiral John Borlase Warren

Ship-of-the-line (80 guns)

Marlborough, Capt. Charles Ross

Dragon, Capt. Robert Barrie

Frigate (40–50 guns)

Maidstone, Capt. George Burdett

Brig (10 guns)

Mohawk, Capt. Henry Litchfield, RN

Schooners (10–18 guns)

Highflyer, Lt. Francis Lewis

Fantome, Capt. John Lawrence

Dolphin, Capt. George Hutchison

Commanding Landing Assault – Rear-Admiral George

Cockburn

Lt. Nicholas Alexander, RN; commanding the barges

Carter, RM (150)

CRANEY ISLAND, VA., JUNE 20, 1813, AND HAMPTON,

VA. JUNE 25, 1813

Admiral John B. Warren

British Army Forces – Col. Thomas Sydney Beckwith, RA

1st Co., Independent Foreigners (125)

2nd Co. Independent Foreigners (125)

Royal Naval Forces – Admiral John B. Warren and Capt. John

Brooke Pechell

Ships-of-the-Line (80 guns)

Marlborough, Capt. Charles B. H. Ross

Victorious, Capt. John Talbot

Poictiers, Capt. John P. Beresford

Plantagenet, Capt. Robert Lloyd

Diadem, Capt. John Phillimore

San Domingo, Capt. John B. Pechell

Frigates (32–44 guns)

Laurestinus, Capt. Thomas Graham

Narcissus, Capt. John R. Lumley

Junon, Capt. James Sanders

Belvidere, Capt. Richard Bryon

Statira, Capt. Hassard Stackpole

Success, Capt. Thomas Barclay

Brigs (12–16 guns)

Mohawk, Capt. Henry Litchfield

Contest, Capt. James Rattray


25

Landing barges (unknown number)

1ST BATTLE OF ST. MICHAELS, AUGUST 10, 1813


Royal Navy – Rear-Admiral George Cockburn

Royal Marine Rocket Artillery (81)

Royal Marine Rocket Artillery 81)

45 Barges

Ships-of-the-line (80 guns)



Sceptre, Capt. Charles B. H. Ross


Barossa, Capt. William H. Shireff


Sloop (10–12 guns)

Conflict, Lt. Cmdr. Henry L. Baker

Brig (10–12 guns)


Schooner Tender (8–10 guns)

Highflyer, Lt. George Hutchison

British Army – Col. Thomas Sydney Beckwith

102nd Regiment Foot (300)

QUEENSTOWN, MD., AUGUST 13, 1813





45 Barges




Sceptre, Capt. Charles B.H. Ross


Conflict, Lt. Cmd. Henry L. Baker

British Army – Col. Thomas Sydney Beckwith


2ND BATTLE OF ST. MICHAELS, AUGUST 26, 1813




Royal Marine Rocket Artillery 81)

45 Barges




Sceptre, Capt. Charles B.H. Ross


Barossa, Capt. William H. Shireff



Conflict, Lt. Cmdr. Henry L. Baker

Brig (10–12 guns)


Schooner-Tender (8–10 guns)

Highflyer, Lt. George Hutchison

British Army – Colonel Thomas Sydney Beckwith


CEDAR POINT, JUNE 1, 1814

Vice-Admiral Alexander Cochrane



Albion, Capt. John F. Devonshire



Loire, Capt. Thomas Brown

Severn

Acasta, Capt. Alexander Kerr

Narcissus, Capt. John R. Lumley

Schooner (10–12 guns)

St. Lawrence

Brigs (10–16 Guns)

Jasseur

Barges

Unknown

1ST BATTLE OF ST. LEONARD’S CREEK, PATUXENT

RIVER, MD., JUNE 8–10, 1814

(See Cedar Point, June 1)

2ND BATTLE OF ST. LEONARD’S CREEK, PATUXENT

RIVER, MD., JUNE 26, 1814

Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn, RN

Ship-of-the-line (80 guns)

Albion, Lt. Cmdr. George C. Urmston


Frigates (

Loire, Capt. Thomas Brown

Narcissus, Capt. John R. Lunley

Schooner

St. Lawrence, Capt. David Boyd

Brig/sloop

Jaseur, Capt. George E. Watts


26

Tender

Catch up a Little, Lt. Edmund H. Fitzmaurice

3rd Division, Lt. Urmston, RN

Rocket boat

BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG, MD. AUGUST 24, 1814

Total forces – 4,185

British Army – Major-General Robert Ross

2nd Battalion, Royal Marines (687)

21st Regiment (884)

85th Light Infantry (516) Lt. Col. William Wood

Light Infantry Battalion (329)

Royal Sappers and Minors (56)

Royal Navy (Land forces) – Rear-Admiral George Cockburn

Wainwright, RN

CAPTURE OF ALEXANDRIA, VA. AUGUST

27 –SEPTEMBER 5, 1814

Royal Navy – Captain James Gordon, RN

Frigates

Seahorse (38 guns), Capt. James Gordon

Euryalus (36 guns), Capt. Captain Charles Napier

Bomb vessels

Meteor, Capt. Thomas Alexander, RN

Aetna, Capt. Richard Kenah

Devastation, Capt. Samuel Roberts

Rocket ship

Erebus, Capt. David E. Barthomew

Dispatch tender

Anna Maria, Masters Mate Matthew Gray

BATTLE OF CAULK’S FIELD, MD. AUGUST 31, 1814

Royal Navy – Captain Sir Peter Parker, HMS Menelaus

(38 guns), Schooner-Tender JaneLanding Party

Captain Sir Peter Parker, RN

BATTLE OF NORTH POINT, MD. SEPTEMBER 12, 1814

British Army Forces – Maj. Gen. Robert Ross, Col. Arthur

Brooke

Total force – 4,419

44th Regiment

44th Regiment - Maj. John Johnson, RA

RM

Lewis, RM

Mitchell, RM

Blanchard

Naval forces (landing party) – Rear-Admiral George

Cockburn

Corps of Colonial Marines (300)

BOMBARDMENT OF FORT MCHENRY, SEPTEMBER

13-14, 1814

Rear-Admiral Poultney Malcolm

Bombardment Squadron

Bomb vessels

Meteor, Capt. Thomas Alexander

Volcano, Capt. David Price

Aetna, Capt. Richard Kennah

Devastation, Capt. Samuel Roberts

Terror, Capt. David Price

Rocket ship

Erebus, Capt. David Barthomew


Surprise, Severn, Euryalus, Hebrus, Madagascar, Havannah

Schooners (10–12 guns)

Seahorse, Cockchafer, Wolverine, Rover


27

The British water and land offensives enabled them to make quick and decisive raids often in large numbers of troops ashore while the American land defensive strategies were often lacking in strength of numbers and weaponry – brought to bear with lightening activity. The objectives outlined by Admiral John B. Warren in 1813 had all been accomplished in a war of attrition.

The American militia, especially on Maryland and Virginia’s Eastern Shore were wholly unprepared – fighting a defensive action. The gunboat US Chesapeake Flotilla showed their combattative nature in a series of naval actions against the British during the summer of 1814 on the Patuxent River campaigns.

BRITISH PLANS

The Royal Navy’s strategy was to prevent American privateers from preying upon British trade in the Atlantic, the West Indies and off the coats of Great Britain itself. In addition to this, the Royal Navy wanted to secure the Chesapeake Bay to prevent those same privateers from venturing forth at all.

On February 5, 1813, Warren himself entered the Chesapeake on board HMS San Domingo (80 guns) to administer a naval blockade of the region following an admiralty order of December 26. His command included the

OPPOSING PLANS

A British launch, c.1810. A

model of a shallow-draft ship’s

launch fitted for 24 oarsmen

with small cannons at either

end with room for Royal

Marines to be carried on shore

for amphibious landings.


Greenwich, London)


28

five naval districts of Newfoundland and Halifax in British Canada, and the Leeward Islands, Jamaica and Bermuda in the West Indies.

A month later Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn arrived with his squadron to enforce the blockade to whom Warren delegated the majority of operational concerns:

Capture or destroy shipping from Baltimore and Virginia Ports.Obtain intelligence on American warships such as the US frigate Constellation.Obtain bay pilots for navigate the Chesapeake.Ascertain the location and strength of the Norfolk-Baltimore defenses.Blockade the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and New York’s Long Island Sound.Send captured American prizes to Bermuda.Maintain communications with other naval stations.

From his flagship HMS Marlborough (74) Rear-Admiral Cockburn surveyed his command of five ships-of-the-line, four frigates and numerous barges for carrying out landing operations.

Cockburn threw himself into his assigned tasks with gusto, and his activities over the next two years are described by contemporary English historian William James in his Naval History of Great Britain:

The rear-admiral’s system … was to land without offering molestation to the un-opposing inhabitants, either in their persons or properties, to capture or destroy all articles of merchandise and munitions of war, to be allowed to take off, upon paying the full market price, all such cattle and supplies as the British squadron might require, but, should resistance be offered, or menaces hold out, to consider the town a fortified post, and the male inhabitants as soldiers; the one to be destroyed, the other, with their cattle and stock to be captured.

The British land strategy as outlined by Secretary of War Earl Bathurst to Colonel Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith and later Major-General Robert Ross was “to effect a diversion on the coast of the United States of America in favor of Upper Canada and Lower Canada … the object of the expedition is to harass the Enemy by the different attacks, you will, avoid the risk of a general action.” The Virginia ports of Craney Island (June 22) and Hampton (June 25), and Maryland sites of Frenchtown (April 29), Elkton (April 29), Havre-de-Grace (May 3), Fredericktown–Georgetown (May 5), Queenstown (August 13) and St. Michaels (August 10, 26) would receive the brunt of the 1813 campaigns.

With Napoleon’s ill-fated Russian campaign of 1812, followed by the collapse of his power in Europe, abdication and subsequent imprisonment on the isle of Elba in 1814, Great Britain was now free to focus more sharply on the North American theatre and a new and more aggressive commander, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, was dispatched in 1814 with the intention of launching an amphibious assault on the region.

In July 1814, Cochrane informed the admiralty that he expected the troops being released from the European campaigns for America would be of “good Service.” He also enlisted local African Americans to act as guides


29

for his men in the campaigns against Washington and Baltimore in the summer of 1814. Sir George Prevost, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, had called on him “to retaliate upon the Maritime Coast of the United States for the barbarities committed by the Americans in Upper Canada” and Cochrane was only too eager to comply.

AMERICAN PLANS

Such federal resources as were available for waging war were committed to the war at sea and the offensives in the north. The primary campaigns along the northern frontier of the Great Lakes would prevent any large expeditionary forces departing for the Chesapeake region until the spring of 1813.

With the American capture and destruction of York (Toronto), Upper Canada, on April 27, fears arose of a retaliatory strike at Washington. On January 13, 1813, John Armstrong was appointed US Secretary of War and he was concerned primarily with the Canadian campaigns, leaving little time for thoughts of protecting Washington until it was too late. While still continuing its naval and military operations on the Great Lakes and a direct invasion across the Niagara frontier, the United States embraced an opportunity for an amicable peace in the late summer of 1814 by sending a commission to Ghent, Belgium, to negotiate a settlement.

The commitment of so much of the available resources to the action in the north left the Chesapeake region particularly vulnerable. The Eastern and Western Shores of Virginia and Maryland were divided by the bay and blockaded by the forces of the Royal Navy, reinforced in 1814 following the temporary end of the war in Continental Europe. This blockade both prevented the American authorities conducting a cohesive defense and also inhibited the transportation of supplies and reinforcements to the Eastern Shore. What little federal resources there were available were committed to the limited garrison of fortifications and the provision of US gunboats on the bay itself.

This left much of the defense of the region in the hands of the militia, who would have to rely on their own resources and military councils. They found themselves in a position not unlike the Revolution: defending their homes and property under stressful conditions and against overwhelming British forces and resources. From 1813 to 1814 the Chesapeake was the subject of near daily assaults by British naval and military forces. In a letter to Governor Levi Winder outlining the difficulties of defending the Chesapeake, Secretary of War John Armstrong summed up the problem: “In a country so intersected by Rivers and Bays as ours, it is impossible to embody [militia] troops at all the points or Enemy, having a naval superiority, may menace or assail.”

Virginia, unlike Maryland, had twice the number of militia available to meet her federal quota with 12,000 compared to Maryland’s 6,000 to be called up in emergency defensive operations. Virginia also sent militia on three occasions across the Potomac River into Maryland: Bladensburg (August 24, 1814), Baltimore (September 12–14, 1814), and General William Madison’s 1st Virginia Regiment at the battle of Kirby’s Windmill near Annapolis (October 1814).

The Virginia militia fought in five theatres of action: the northwest frontier under General William H. Harrison with Virginia furnishing 1,500


30

militia for Ohio in the autumn of 1812; the defense of Norfolk in the spring of 1812 at Craney Island and Hampton; the defense of Richmond with training encampments though no actions took place; the northern neck and the lower James River, where the militia responded to numerous incursions and landings by the British at Chewings Point, Urbana, Yeocomico River, Tappahannock and other tidewater sites; and the actions at Bladensburg, Maryland and Baltimore in September 1814.

However, the Americans were far from defenseless. By 1813 US naval forces in the region consisted of three frigates, two sloops of war and nearly 125 gunboats in various stages of readiness. Twenty of these were in Baltimore and Norfolk, the rest in other ports along the eastern seaboard. On January 2, under the Naval Expansion Act, four 74-gun ships and an additional six frigates were authorized (two of which were the Columbia in Washington and the Java, along with two sloops of war the Erie and Ontario, in Baltimore). Although these ships were built they could not break out into the Atlantic due to the Royal Navy blockade. The Columbia, along with the sloop Argus, would be burnt in August 1814 at the Washington Navy Yard during the British occupation of the capital.

Commodore Joshua Barney was authorized in August 1813 to command the US Chesapeake Flotilla, which ultimately consisted of 500 flotillamen with gunboats, schooners and other armed vessels to protect the Chesapeake tidewater. For the three months of their existence (May–August 1814), they fought an escalating naval duel with the Royal Navy along the bay shore and the shallows of the Patuxent River.

Both States’ strategies were to protect their military and maritime resources at the Gosport Naval Yard and other ports, as well as to protect against the depredations caused by other raids. Though response was often swift, there were few occasions when the militia were able to make a firm stand against the veteran forces employed by the British in their war of attrition against the region.


31

As it had been against the French throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the naval blockade was the key tool of the British against the Americans on the outbreak of the War of 1812. This was initially aimed against the coastline of the southern American States, from Charleston down to Florida, but was extended in 1813 to cover both the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. So, for the opening year of the war the waters of the Chesapeake were a sideshow, and the region was most famous as a base for the privateers that threatened British trade.

PRIVATEERS AND LETTERS OF MARQUE

Within the framework of the US Constitution, citizen-entrepreneurs acted swiftly by requesting commissions from the US State Department that read, in part, “To issue to private armed vessels of the United States commissions of Letters of Marque and general reprisal … against the vessels, goods and effects of the government of the said United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.” Two types of commissions were issued: letters of marque, which restricted the holder to raids only in the territorial waters of the United States; and letters of marque and reprisal that empowered the holder to wage war on British naval interests throughout the world. Collectively, these entrepreneurs were referred to as privateers and they provided a constant threat to British trade along the Atlantic seaboard and beyond British trade. Their vessels were sharp-hulled with high raking masts and were well armed and crewed. Their fast-sailing qualities made them admirably suited to the business of privateering.

While the militia defended their farms and towns, their maritime compatriots were determined to take the war to British interests throughout the wider world. So effective were these private armed vessels that the London Evening Star in October 1812 stated: “The American navy must be annihilated – her arsenals and dockyards must be consumed; and the turbulent inhabitants of Baltimore must be tamed with the weapons which shook the wooden turrets of Copenhagen… All the prating about maritime rights, with which the Americans have recently nauseated the ears of every cabinet minister in Europe must be silenced by the strong and manly voice of reason- America must be BEATEN INTO SUBMISSION!”

1825), commander of the letter

of marque brig Chasseur from

Baltimore who by proclamation

a full blockade of the British

Isles in August 1814. Upon her

return home she was noted as


1812: THE OPENING OF HOSTILITIES


32

In a letter dated October 5, 1812, to Secretary of the Admiralty John W. Croker, Admiral John Warren stated “this station is in a very induced state. The demand of Ships for Convoys and the protection of the Commerce, the State of War which seems to assume a new as well as more active and inveterate aspect than before.” Within six months following the US declaration of war the US State Department had issued 56 letters of marque and/or reprisal to Baltimore, which was the first American port to send privateers out to sea.

On December 29, before setting out from Bermuda, Warren again wrote to Croker: “The Swarms of Privateers and Letters of Marque … and the crews of several having landed at points of the coast of Nova Scotia and in the Leeward Islands, and cut out of the Harbours some vessels, render it necessary immediately to send out a strong addition of ships … or the Trade must inevitably suffer, If not be, utterly ruined and destroyed.”

The situation at sea during the early period of the war did not go well for the Royal Navy with four naval defeats to the fledgling American Navy in frigate versus frigate actions (August 19, HMS Guerriere vs. USS Constitution; October 18, USS Wasp vs. HMS Frolic; October 25, HMS Macedonian vs. USS United States; December 29, HMS Java vs. USS Constitution). With these unprecedented naval victories combined with the cruises of American privateers, the inevitable solution for the Royal Navy was to dispatch a large naval force to blockade the ports of Boston, New York and the Chesapeake.

Baltimore would send out a total of 126 privateers during the war, the most of any American port. In comparison, Virginia is known to have sent only ten during the war. The Norfolk Herald editorialized that “This species of marine warfare [privateering] is likely to become a means of considerable annoyance to our enemy … we may calculate, that in less than two months, we shall have a private navy equal, at least in numbers (if not so in strength) to that of Britain.”

Private armed vessels were first and foremost a business concern, with profitable gains and at times tragic economic and human losses in combative actions. A secondary motive was that of service to one’s country. Captain Thomas Boyle of the brig Chasseur, when he found he had unwillingly “sought a contest with a king’s vessel …when I found myself deceived, the honor of the flag entrusted to my charge was not to be disgraced by flight.”

English newspapers described the Chasseur as “the fastest sailer out of America; she is the vessel that has committed so many depredations off Cape Clear, and in the chops of the Channel, and although chased by so many of our cruisers, has hitherto escaped, by her superiority in sailing.”

British merchants protested to the Admiralty regarding the excessive insurance premiums and heavy losses they were enduring, even within sight of their own coasts. American privateers captured more than 800 British merchant vessels, whereas in the Chesapeake British frigates captured and destroyed only 224 known American merchant vessels and privateers. In a memorial the merchants and ship-owners of

Battle off Havana on February

26, 1815, between the brig

Chasseur and HMS St. Lawrence.

The Chasseur under Captain

Thomas Boyle was one of the

most successful privateers to

sail from America capturing 36

British prizes in her two

voyages. (National Maritime



33

Glasgow, Scotland, as well as other ports of Great Britain, protested to the Lords of the Admiralty, “That the number of American privateers with which our channels have been infested, the audacity with which they have approached our coast, and the success with which their enterprise has been attended, have proved injurious to our commerce.”

The Baltimore letter of marque privateer Lottery under Captain Southcomb illustrates the hazards of this kind of enterprise. On February 8, 1813, one of the most desperate naval actions on the Chesapeake took place at Lynnhaven Bay between the Lottery and the cutters and barges from three British frigates. At 9.00am HMS Maidstone, one of three frigates guarding the Virginia Capes, sighted Lottery bearing down the bay from Baltimore hoping to elude the blockade. Nine heavily armed boats and cutters set off in pursuit from HMS Belvidera and Satria.

At 1.00pm the wind died suddenly. The British boats closed in as the Lottery’s crew manned their small boats in an attempt to pull their vessel to safety, firing broadsides as the British fired solid shot. Then followed a boarding melee of 250 men armed with muskets, clubs, axes, pikes and cutlasses. Captain Southcomb shouted to his men, “My Lads, we must be taken. Let it not, however, be said, that we gave our vessel away; if they do take her, they must pay for her!” After a three-hour encounter and after the colors went down, Captain Southcomb lay on deck with five cutlass wounds while the crew of 28 were quickly subdued.

Captain Richard Byron of HMS Belvidera had Captain Southcomb taken onboard but it was too late. The British delivered Captain Southcomb’s remains to the USS Constellation while the Belvidera fired minute guns with its flag at half-mast to honor the fallen captain. Two days later, the Lottery’s crew was paroled.

“ONWARD TO CANADA!”

In anticipation of an invasion of Canada, federal recruitment began in the Chesapeake region under Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Winder. The US was lamentably ill-prepared for the invasion. Federal and militia recruitment officers set up their rendezvous at local taverns with a colorful regiment or company flag unfurled, luring young recruits by the esprit de corps of the fifes and drums. In addition the US Government put forward the inducement of $124 and 160 acres of land upon a post war honorable discharge.

The only Maryland US Volunteer militia company sent to Canada was Captain Stephen H. Moore’s First Baltimore Volunteers, en route with Virginia’s Petersburg Volunteers for a year long enlistment. They proceeded with the American Army and successfully attacked York (Toronto), the capital of Upper British Canada, and placed their company flag on the highest pinnacle of the Government House. On their return to Baltimore, they were reorganized into the 39th Maryland Regiment and took an active role in the Battle of North Point on September 12, 1814. Lieutenant-Colonel Winder was captured at the Battle of Stoney Creek in June 1813 but was paroled to command the new 10th Military District, which encompassed Maryland and northern Virginia, on July 2, 1814. He would command the ill-fated American Army at Bladensburg, Maryland, on August 24, 1814.


34

On March 11 Maryland Governor Levin Winder directed Major-General Samuel Smith “to make the necessary arrangement for the defense of the port of Baltimore.” That summer he organized a “Corps of Observation” along the shores and landward approaches in cooperation with the US Navy to improve Baltimore’s defenses.

Governor Winder realized that the federal government “had taken upon itself the protection of Virginia because her militia were placed under the command of an officer of the United States.” However, US Secretary of War John Armstrong informed Winder that, “So far as expenditures have arisen, or shall arise, in consequence of militia calls by the State without the participation of the United States [regular army officers], no provision is found to exist under the present laws.” Thus Maryland would have to defend herself with untried militia against veteran British forces.

1813: YEAR OF DEPREDATIONS

the harbour of Annapolis in

Maryland by William Tatum in

In 1808, the federal

government erected two

masonry fortifications to

protect Annapolis harbor at

Beaman’s Point (Fort Madison)

and Windmill Point (Fort

Severn), along with two militia

earthen batteries at Horn Point

and Greenbury Point. (Library

of Congress)


35

The first British incursions in the Chesapeake region had started along with the Royal Navy’s blockade of the bay. By May 1813, the defense of the region had become a critical issue following a series of destructive British raids on the Upper Chesapeake, which tested Maryland’s amateurish militia severely. These were the men who encountered the first incursions of the British at Frenchtown (April 29), Elk Landing (April 29), Havre-de-Grace (May 3), and Fredericktown and Georgetown (May 5); these were coupled with whole a number of larger inland battles at Craney Island (June 22), Hampton (June 25), Kent Island (August 5–24) Queenstown (August 13), and St. Michaels (August 10, 26), as well as a whole series of raids on the numerous islands of the bay. The only US regular forces were at forts McHenry, Covington, Norfolk, Nelson, Washington, Severn, and Madison in Annapolis. In the spring of 1813, Congress authorized the establishment of the 36th and 38th US Infantry Regiments to give a measure of federal protection to Maryland. In the summer of 1814 these forces would be engaged on the Patuxent River (June 26), at Bladensburg (August 24), and at Baltimore (September 12–14).

HAVRE-DE-GRACE, MAY 3, 1813

Havre-de-Grace on the lower Susquehanna River was an important link along the Post Road (US Rt. 40) from Philadelphia to Baltimore. During the Revolution this hamlet of 60 houses was visited by both the American and French armies who passed through in 1781 towards their victory at Yorktown, Virginia. The town never imagined that 32 years later the British would visit again with destructive force.

Rear-Admiral Cockburn had already attacked Frenchtown on the Elk River on April 28, before capturing Spesutie Island on the 30th, where the British took on fresh water and livestock. On May 1 the British force, consisting of the HMS Maidstone (36 guns), schooner Highflyer (10 guns),

“Admiral Cockburn Burning &

Plundering Havre De Grace on

the 1st of June 1813 taken from

a Sketch taken on the Spot at

the time.” The attack was

actually on May 3, 1813, one of

the fierce raiding atrocities by

Rear-Admiral Cockburn.



36

HMS Fantome

HMS Highflower

HMS Maidstone

HMS Dolphin

HMSMarlborough

Cockburn12 Barges

N

2 miles

2km

0

0

Havre-de-Grace

Charlestown

Susquehanna River

North

Rive

r

Swan Cr.

Elk Rive

r

C H E S A P E A K E B A Y

LocustPoint

TurkeyPoint

PlumbPoint

Large Shoal

Plum

b Po

int S

hoal

Baltimore Road

Ferry

Road

Ferry

Roa

d

Philadelphia RoadPalmer’s

Is.

Rodger’s Tavern

Hughes’Foundary

Baltimore

CECILCOUNTY

HARFORDCOUNTY

CECILCOUNTY

CECILCOUNTY

Sion HillPr

inci

pio

Cr.

Elk N

eck

O’Neill’s Battery

MARYLAND

MARYLAND

Spesutie Is.

To Pennsylvania

To Philadelphia

Havre-de-Grace, May 3, 1813


37

schooner Dolphin (12 guns), schooner Fantome (12 guns), and Marlborough (80 guns), turned its attention to the town of Havre-de-Grace, where Cockburn “observed Guns fired and American Colours hoisted at a Battery.” Deciding to attack, Cockburn assembled his forces and as the shoals offshore caused difficulties the Royal Marines and sailors were to be transported to shore in landing barges. At dawn on May 3, 20 barges rowed northward through the Spesutie Narrows towards Havre-de-Grace where incredibly there were no shore patrols. The militia had become complacent due to daily exercises with no signs of imminent attack and returned to their homes. The 40th and 42nd Regiments had also been ordered to Annapolis, reducing the numbers available for the defense.

The British advanced with four amphibious divisions and discharged shot, musketry and Congreve rockets upon the town and the Concord Point gun battery. The first division was led by Lt. Lawrence; the second by Lt. George A. Westphal; the third by Lt. George Hutchison, and the fourth by Francis J. Lewis. The thunderous fiery assault drove the inhabitants from their houses in distress, while the militia manned the gun battery. Among those responding was Irish-born John O’Neill who left an account of the militia’s ineffective response to the attack:

c.1815. Royal Marines enforced

discipline onboard the ships of

the Royal Navy and were an

integral force during the

campaigns at Havre-de-Grace,

Frenchtown, St. Michaels,

Queenstown and the battles of

Craney Island, Hampton,

Baltimore and Washington.


Greenwich, London)


38

We had a small breast work erected; with two six and one 9 pounder in it; and I was stationed at one of the guns. When the alarm was given, I ran to the battery and found but one man there and two or three came afterwards. After firing a few shots they retreated, and left me alone in the battery. The grape shot flew very thick about me… I retreated down to town … with a musket, and fired on the barges while we had ammunition, and then retreated to the commons, where I kept waving my hat to the militia, who had run away, to come to our assistance, but they proved cowardly and would not come back.

Lieutenants Westphal and Lawrence along with Rear-Admiral Cockburn led the first assault on O’Neill’s battery, turning the guns on the remaining 50 militia who withdrew to the woods north of town while firing from behind houses, fences and trees. With little resistance, the British torched the town as the Royal Marines pursued the retreating militia beyond the outskirts of town while devastating homes and St. John’s Episcopal Church. At 4.30pm the citizens emerged from the protective woodlands to find a scene of total desolation.

The third division moved north into nearby Principio Creek to destroy Colonel Samuel Hughes’ Cecil Furnace foundry, described by Cockburn as “one of the most valuable Works of the Kind in America, the Destruction of it therefore at this moment will I trust prove of much national importance.” Hughes’ foundry was a major supplier of cannon for the US Navy.

The fourth division of Royal Marines proceeded 4 miles north up the Susquehanna where they destroyed the ferry and associated buildings. In the aftermath, a resident spoke for all when he said that, “The scene is closed… Every house has suffered more or less – mine and all my furniture is gone. My ferry boats are all taken and the stages burnt… I am ruined.” By 10.00pm the four British divisions had returned to their ships. Editor Hezekiah Niles of Niles’ Weekly Register added his summation: “The ruins of Havre de Grace shall stand as a monument of British cruelty.”

Frederick Town by a

detachment of boats from The

Honorable John B. Warren’s

squadron under Rear-Admiral

British barges assault the twin

river towns on the Sassafras

River. (Library of Congress)


39

Second Lieutenant John O’Neill, having stood alone by his gun, was captured though his release was later secured through the endeavors of US Attorney General William Pinkney, Sr and friends. For his “brave and patriotic exertion” O’Neill was presented an engraved sword. He continued to live in the town as one of Maryland’s heroes of the war.

The British next turned their attention on May 6 to Maryland’s Eastern Shore and attacked the twin Sassafras River towns of Fredericktown and Georgetown where they destroyed US Government warehouses, stage depots and homes. Cockburn informed Warren of his assessment: “I am assured that all the places in the upper part of the Chesapeake Bay have … neither public property, vessels, nor warlike stores remaining in this neighborhood.”

With the successful attacks, Cockburn’s reputation was secure as the most hated British officer on the Bay. Having completed his raids he set a southerly course for Lynnhaven Bay to await Colonel Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith’s expeditionary military forces from Bermuda. On June 22 these combined forces attacked Virginia’s Craney Island and Hampton.

THE BATTLE OF CRANEY ISLAND, VA., JUNE 20, 1813

“The Guns are roaring at this moment.”Alexandria Gazette, June 28, 1813

In March, Virginia Governor James Barbour called the militia from the surrounding counties to reinforce the area around Hampton Roads, which soon found itself at the center of two naval amphibious attacks. Admiral Warren’s objective was the Norfolk Gosport Naval Yard on the Elizabeth River, which was itself protected by militia and federal forces at Craney Island, 20 US gunboats and the US frigate Constellation. The British had already sounded Hampton Roads and made preparations for the naval and land attack.

The US gunboats maneuvered into a defensive line across the entrance to the Elizabeth River east of Craney Island from Lambert’s to Sewell’s Point. Commanding the barges was Master Commandant Joseph Tarbell of the US frigate Constellation, which was anchored between forts Norfolk and Nelson.

On June 19, Warren returned to the Chesapeake accompanied by a land force of 2,202 men commanded by Lt. Col. Thomas Sydney Beckwith. His second in command was Lt. Col. Charles James Napier of the 102nd Regiment, who had been severely wounded on several occasions during the Peninsular War. In a secret letter dated March 20, Beckwith received explicit instructions that while onboard His Majesty’s Ships he would receive his orders from Warren, but once ashore he commanded as the senior military officer. The purpose of the Chesapeake campaign as the Secretary of War, Lord Bathurst, outlined it was “to effect a diversion on the coast of the United States of America in favor of Upper Canada and Lower Canada … the object of the expedition is to harass the Enemy by the different attacks, you will, avoid the risk of a general action.” The avoidance of a “general action” directive however was taken further than the stated explicit instructions as clearly shown in the engagements at Hampton, Va. (June 25, 1813); Queenstown (August 13, 1813), St. Michaels (August 10, 26, 1813) , Bladensburg (August 24, 1814) and North Point (September 12, 1814). With the exception of Bladensburg, a land engagement


40

Fort Norfolk

British Fleet

Barges

Barges

Barges

Gunboats

ElizabethRiver

Barges

Fort Nelson

Tanner’s Creek

Back

Rive

r

Hampto

nCr

eek

West B

ranch

Norfolk

Hampton

Little England

Craney Island

Cran

ey Is

. Cr

eek

“Thoroughfare”

JamesR ive r

Hampton Roads

Hoffl

eur’s

Cree

k

Sewell’s Point

Blackbeard’s Pt.

Wise’s Quarters

Lambert’sPt.

Love’sPoint

Pinner’sPoint

Celey Plantation

1 mile

1km

0

0

N

New MarketBridge

Yorktown Road

Celey’s Road

C H E S A P E A K E

B A Y

HMS Mohawk

USSConstellation

VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA

Wi l loughby Bay

June 25, 1813

June 22, 1813

Craney Island and Hampton, June 22–25, 1813


41

where federal forces were brought sadly to use, the British only had to contend with untried and inexperienced militia forces.

The British planned a joint army/navy amphibious operation, which was to be led by Captain Samuel J. Pechell of HMS San Domingo. The combined force consisted of two battalions of Royal Marines (1,642), each with a detachment of the Royal Rocket Artillery (50), the 102nd Regiment (300) along with two companies of Independent Foreigners (250) and the sailors of the fleet – an estimated assault force of some 2,292 men.

For the Americans, Brig. Gen. Robert Barrund Taylor’s command consisted of a combined force of militia and federal forces (775 men) at Craney Island along with the 20 US gunboats guarding the river. On the opposite shore of the Elizabeth River, near Norfolk, were forts Nelson (Captain Constant Freeman) and Norfolk (Captain Richard Pollard) garrisoned by less than 50 US infantry, half their usual garrison strength as detachments had been sent to Craney Island. With the Constellation anchored between them, they provided a formidable second line of defense. On the South end of Craney Island an earthen artillery redoubt mounted two 24-pdrs, one 18-pdr and four 6-pdrs all under Maj. James Faulkner.

On June 19 at 4.00am, 20 US barges armed with carronades under Captain Tarbell approached, under a heavy fog, the frigate HMS Junon at anchor in Lynnhaven Bay in a pre-emptive assault. The attack commenced when a breeze suddenly came up allowing three nearby frigates Narcissus, Barrosa and Fantome to weigh anchor and aid the Junon. After being under fire for nearly two hours, the Americans retired to the safety of the shallow waters of the Elizabeth River. By dawn the attack had ended with two British killed and three wounded for the loss of one American killed.

Admiral Warren commanded 22 warships in Hampton Roads with 60 barges under Rear-Admiral Cockburn and this force led the approach to the Elizabeth River to destroy the USS Constellation and Gosport Naval Yard at Norfolk 5 miles inland. By June 21 the British had maneuvered their 22 warships just outside the mouth of the Elizabeth River stretching from Lambert’s Point to Sewell’s Point, east of the island.

A bird’s-eye view of Craney

Island (1819), a half-mile long

and 200 yards wide at the mouth

of the Elizabeth River, which

commanded the approach to

Norfolk, Va., with a fortified

blockhouse and magazine

shown on the right. (National

Archives and Records

Administration, Ralph E.

Eshelman)


42

At daybreak on June 22, 60 British barges and two schooners landed two amphibious assault columns 2 miles west of the island under Col. Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith and Lt. Col. Charles James Napier. The landing force of some 2,292 men went ashore north of Hoffler’s Creek near the mouth of the Nansemond River. Their strategy was to attack Craney Island via a 450-yard-long bridge known as the “thoroughfare” which connected the island to the mainland, but they were prevented by the deep waters of Wise’s Creek on their approach. The British artillery and Congreve rockets had little effect, while American fire from the island’s battery inflicted casualties on the British and the land assault to take the island failed. The second phase of the attack would be made by Rear-Admiral Cockburn.

At 11.00am the British advanced with 30–40 barges crowded with 1,600 Royal Marines and sailors in two columns, one from the west by land,

the other towards the island by water. The Royal Marine Artillery detachments (100) began firing their Congreve rockets, which

were met with fierce artillery of shot, grape and canister from Maj. Faulkner’s shore batteries made up of Capt.

Arthur Emmerson’s Portsmouth Light Artillery with one 24-pdr and four 6-pdrs. The harassing fire on the advancing British barges caused them to be driven back to their parent ships. The leading barge, the Centipede, was damaged by cannon fire and her crew captured. Having failed in their attempt to attack Norfolk via Craney Island, Warren and Cockburn

moved their operations on June 25 across the river towards Hampton where they hoped to find

opportunities that had eluded them at Craney Island. British losses in the action amounted to 200 killed and

wounded and 52 missing. Miraculously, Col. Beatty reported no American casualties at Craney Island.

“The Yankee Torpedo.” On July

24, 1813, an explosion occurred

in Lynnhaven Bay when an

American torpedo prematurely

exploded near HMS

Plantagenet with “the

concussion of an earthquake”

and sending water cascading

upwards of 80ft, emphasizing

American naval ingenuity in the

Chesapeake campaign. (Library

of Congress)

Captain John Cassin (1760–

1822). A veteran of the battle of

Trenton, Cassin entered the US

Navy in 1799, became master

commandant in 1806, captain

in 1812, and commanded the

Gosport Naval Yard from 1812

to 1821. Subsequently, he

commanded the US Naval

Station in Charleston, SC.


ythe other tow

detachmwere

fromAroa

Nm

toopp

Britiwound

no Americ


43

THE BATTLE OF HAMPTON, VA., JUNE 25, 1813

The attack on Hampton was launched three days later at dawn on June 25. As it was at Craney Island, Admiral Warren’s objective at Hampton was to destroy communications between Norfolk and the upper part of the Chesapeake. In a similar style to Craney Island, Col. Sir Thomas Beckwith and Lt. Col. Charles James Napier came ashore in a two-column attack on the Celey Plantation. The landing forces consisted of two companies of Independent Companies of Foreigners (250); the 102nd Regiment (300) under Napier; three companies of Royal Marines (1,600) under Maj. James Malcolm, along with detachments of Royal Marine Artillery (50 men each) equipped with four light 6-pdrs, two brass light 5 1/4in. howitzers and 50 gunners under Lt. Balchild. These formed an estimated force of 2,250 men landing under the guns of the brig HMS Mohawk.

Simultaneously, Rear-Admiral Cockburn’s warships launched an attack with round shot and Congreve rockets upon Hampton’s seven-gun American shore batteries around the militia camp located on the Little England estate by the West Branch of Hampton Creek. This was the precursor to an amphibious assault on the westward side of Hampton, and a naval flotilla of barges and armed boats appeared off Blackbeard’s Point at the mouth of Hampton Creek.

The land forces under Col. Beckwith defeated Maj. Crutchfield’s Virginia militia near the Yorktown Road on the western approach to Hampton and entered the town. Immediately they began to pillage, with the episode described by one resident as having “disgraced the age in which we live.” Major Crutchfield reported that the “unfortunate females of Hampton who could not leave the town were suffered to be abused in the most shameful manner.” Afterwards, Lt. Col. Napier admitted “every horror was perpetrated with impunity (by our troops) – rape, murder, pillage – and not a one was punished.” The British attack and subsequent burning and pillaging of Hampton came to be the most tragic attack of the war on the Chesapeake.

The three companies of undisciplined conscript French prisoners carried out many of the worst excesses. These French deserters and prisoners from Europe were recalled to Halifax to act as a garrison, but their behavior there caused as much disturbance as it had in the Chesapeake and they were returned to England to be disbanded, before being repatriated to France.

Benjamin J. Lossing’s map of

the attack on Hampton, Va., on

June 25, 1813. (Lossing’s

Pictorial Field-book of the War of

1812)


44

KENT ISLAND, MD., AUGUST 5–26, 1813

The high wooden dome of the Annapolis State House directly across the bay from Kent Island afforded a panoramic view from which to observe British movements on the middle Chesapeake.

The island had been selected for its strategic location as the middle ground of the Chesapeake within striking distance of Baltimore and Amapolis and the Eastern Shore towns of Queenstown and St. Michaels. It had an abundance of fresh water, cattle and farm provisions, making it an ideal location for an expeditionary force. The island’s greatest length was 21 miles, its average width 6 miles. It was watered on its western side by the Chesapeake and on its eastern side by the Eastern Bay. To approach the mainland from the island one had to traverse a narrow marshy causeway a mile in length. Nearby, along the rivers Chester, Wye and St. Michaels were some of the finest tidewater estates of the region.

At dawn on August 5, British barges carrying the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of Royal Marines and three companies of the 102nd Regiment landed on the southern point of the island and the British established four encampments at Broad Creek, Parson’s Point, Kent Point, and Kent Island Narrows. To prevent a militia attack, an earthen artillery battery was erected and several ships were anchored offshore to defend the narrows. Lieutenant-Colonel Napier’s command consisted of the 102nd Regiment Foot (300), two battalions of Royal Marines (1,684) and two companies of Royal Marine Artillery (100), a total of 2,084 men.

British schooners sounded the mouth of the Chester River as well as the Eastern Bay, giving notice of their intention of attacking Baltimore itself – and the city took steps to ensure its security. A more immediate target was the settlement of St. Michaels, which not only contained shipyards but also Maryland’s Eastern Shore Arsenal at Easton. No less than 17 warships were anchored off Kent Island and from these were launched the barges, gunboats and cutters for the amphibious river assaults at Queenstown and St. Michaels.

FIRST BATTLE OF ST. MICHAELS, AUGUST 10, 1813

St. Michaels was a flourishing village in Talbot County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 5 miles from the bay itself. The town was inhabited by naval mechanics, fishermen and farmers, and its shipyards, privateers and industry became a prime British target. The local militia consisted of the 12th Brigade (Caroline, Talbot and Dorchester counties) under Brigadier-General Perry Benson (1757–1827), a veteran officer of the Carolinas campaigns of 1781 during the American Revolution. With the British invasion of the bay, the 56-year-old native Marylander took up his sword for a second time.

The townsmen constructed earthen entrenchments and redoubts for six cannon at the confluence of the North and South Folks of the Tred Avon River leading to Easton and named it Fort Stokes. Three additional artillery redoubts were also constructed around St. Michaels harbor at Parrott’s Point Battery, Impy Dawson’s Wharf and the Mill Point gun battery.


45

On August 10 at 3.00am, with poor visibility caused by fog and light rain, the militia at Auld’s Point missed the approach of 11 barges coming up the river with 300 Royal Marines. At 5.00am the barges reached Parrott’s Point where the Royal Marines waded ashore, and Capt. William Dodson’s 14 militia opened fired from their gun battery with grape and canister. With superior British numbers overwhelming the battery, Capt. Dodson cut down “the flag-staff and bore off the colors” and retreated into town.

The Mill’s Point and Dawson’s Wharf batteries also opened fire on the British, with one militiaman recalling, “that the balls flew over their heads at a dreadful rate.” At 9.00am the first attack upon St. Michaels was over. The Royal Marines had destroyed the battery without entering the town and, having not seen any privateers, “deemed the object of the enterprise fulfilled” and returned to their boats. Brigadier-General Benson presented a summary of the raid: “There was much blood on the grass at the water… Some of the houses were perforated, but no injury to any human being; this showeth the hand of a protecting Providence.” The British losses were two officers and 26 marines killed or wounded. For the Americans there were no casualties reported.

An 1809 Admiralty diagram

showing the mounting an 18-

pdr carronade on a gunboat

being contracted out for

building. Such gunboats and

armament would be a common

site in the Chesapeake for

British landing parties.


Greenwich, London)


4646

EVENTS

1. At 3am Col. Thomas Sidney Beckwith’s two companies of Independent Foreigners (300) Lt. Col. Charles Napier’s two battalions of Royal Marines (1600) and Royal Marine Artillery (100) with four field guns crossed the isthmus towards Queenstown.

2. Two miles outside of town a detachment

were posted along the road known as

3. The militia are surprised by Col. Beckwith’s forces in the pre-dawn darkness, lit by musket flashes through the pine-marsh grasslands. Having fired several volleys the militia realize the large force before them and pull back steadily towards town through the pine marshes.

4. Major William Nicholson commanding the 38th Maryland Regiment (244), cavalry (100) and artillery with two field guns (50) forms his command in a defense line outside Queenstown.

5. By dawn with the British land forces pressing upon Maj. Nicholson’s line, a British naval force of 45 barges (900) firing Congreve rockets under Rear-Admiral Cockburn enters Queenstown Creek with hopes of cutting off Nicholson’s retreat.

6. This force mistakenly lands at Blakeford Point on the shore opposite Queenstown. By the time Cockburn realizes his mistake and re-aligns his forces to the Queenstown shore, Nicholson is able to escape the trap and retreat towards Chester Mills inland and safety. British losses are two killed and five wounded; the Americans lose one wounded and one captured.

THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN, AUGUST 13, 1813The British attack the settlement of Queenstown by land and sea.

BRITISH FORCES

A. Two Independent Companies of Foreigners

B.

Charles Napier.

C. Captain Frederick Robertson, Royal Marine

Artillery (100) with four 5½in. howitzers

D.

Cockburn

E. British naval squadron off Kent Island

1

CHESTER RIVER

BECKWITH

X

A B

C

E

Note: Gridlines are shown at intervals of 1km (0.62 mile)


4747

AMERICAN FORCES

1. 38th Maryland Regiment

2. Cavalry

3.

4. Major Gustavus W.T. Wright’s Artillery

Company

2

3

4

5

6

EASTERN NECK ISLAND

SLIPPERY HILL

QUEENSTOWN

QUEENSTOWN

CREEK

SALKTHOUSE

COVE

BLAKEFORD POINT

NICHOLSON

I I I

D

1

2

3

4


48

THE BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN, AUGUST 13, 1813

The next target for the British forces was the village of Queenstown, which consisted of a dozen houses on the Chester River, lying 5 miles from the Chesapeake. Commanding the 38th Maryland militia (244) was 33-year-old Major William H. Nicholson (1772–1815) from one of the Eastern Shore’s most prominent families. On August 5, Maj. Nicholson established his camp 4 miles east from Kent Island near his headquarters at the Bowlingly Estate along Queenstown Creek overlooking the Chester River.

On the afternoon of August 12, Nicholson assembled his militia knowing that the British would bring their land forces by the only land route from Kent Island. That evening Nicholson sent forward a picket guard of 62 men and four dragoons to Piney Neck and another 20 pickets along the Kent Island Road to detect British forward movements.

By dawn on August 13, Col. Beckwith’s forces had advanced east along the Kent Island Road. Two miles west of Queenstown the American guard of 20 militia stood between Queenstown and the advancing British Independent Foreigners (300). Immediately Maj. Nicholson mounted his horse and rode forward towards the picket line. The firing commenced with heavy musket volleys, and the militia began a steady retreat as the British advanced, falling back to Major Nicholson’s main defense line; the enemy was now 400 yards away.

In the morning darkness Col. Beckwith was taken by surprise when the picket guard fired on them as the road suddenly was lighted by musket flashes and reverberating fire through the pine marsh grasslands. To regroup, Col. Beckwith ordered an accompanying band to play and resumed the advance but at every turn the American militia fired while a company of Royal Marines were pushed forward.

By 4.00am, with the British pressing upon Nicholson’s main lines – now barely 150 yards away – couriers arrived from the Chester River with the news that a large naval force under Rear-Admiral Cockburn was approaching Queenstown in 45 barges (c.900 men). The soaring Congreve rockets indicated the reports were true. The British force now confronting Maj. Nicholson consisted of two companies of Royal Marine Artillery (100), the 102nd Regiment (300) and two battalions of Royal Marines (1,600).

Nicholson was in a precarious situation with overwhelming forces advancing from both the front and rear, tightening a noose around him. In the darkness the British barges had mistakenly landed on the opposite shore from Queenstown, thus affording Nicholson the opportunity to order a retreat and pass through Queenstown to encamp at Chester’s Mills, 18 miles north at Centerville.

Having corrected their landing error, Cockburn hoped to catch the militia in a trap between his naval force and land troops. Fortunately for the Americans, the British were confused by the darkness and their encirclement failed. If the British had landed in the right place then the outcome for Queenstown might have been quite different. Lacking cavalry the British did not pursue the retreating militia but concentrated on the town. The British confiscated militia supplies and partially destroyed the Bowingly Estate before returning to their ships. The British suffered two killed and five or six wounded, the Americans suffered one wounded and one man captured. The


49

militia had performed unusually well in this action because of their familiarity with the lay of the land – especially their knowledge of the fence lines and a sunken tobacco road known as “Slippery Hill” – and had maintained a steady series of intermittent volleys during their measured withdrawal.

SECOND BATTLE OF ST. MICHAELS, AUGUST 26, 1813

Sixteen days after the first attack on St. Michaels, Rear-Admiral Cockburn returned with a stronger force. Just before dawn, 60 barges carrying 2,100 Royal Marines and seamen again landed at Auld’s Point on Eastern Bay. The British marched the 1½ miles along the Old Claiborne Road (Bay Side Road) to Tilghman Island Road (Rt. 33) before splitting into two forces.

Three companies of Royal Marines (300) under Rear-Admiral Cockburn marched 3 miles south along the Bayside River Road to the Kemp Farm (Bolton Manor) in search of a militia company. Lieutenant-Colonel Beckwith with 1,800 men marched several miles along the St. Michaels Road to where Porter and Broad Creeks approached within a half-mile of each other, some 2 miles from St. Michaels itself. Here the British formed a line across the road raising their standards while three British schooners came into view on the Miles River and landed several barges at Hamilton’s Point west of town.

Here the American lines formed with Captain Clement Vickers’ Talbot Volunteer Artillery positioned across the creek narrows while the 4th and 26th Regiments and the 9th Cavalry Regiment occupied their flanks. The British line consisted of an estimated 1,800 men and the American lines some 500 who, supported by cavalry, exchanged musket fire before the British mysteriously withdrew. Lieutenant-Colonel Beckwith’s forces re-embarked on the barges at Auld’s Point and returned to their ships. Cockburn’s own forces likewise returned, having only captured a few militiamen and burned two merchant vessels. At 9.00am the British ships weighed anchor to rendezvous with the fleet at the north end of Kent Island.

The next evening, August 28, the British Union Jack that had been hoisted on a house on Kent Island went down, replaced with a white flag by its owners. Thus ended the first and only British attack in Queen Anne’s County.


50

EVENTS

1. Sixteen days after the first attack on St. Michaels, Rear-Admiral Cockburn returned with a stronger force. At 3am sixty barges carrying Royal Marines (1,600), two companies of Royal Marine Artillery (100) with two 5in. howitzers and the Independent Companies of Foreigners (200) again landed at Auld’s Point from Eastern Bay.

2. The British marched the 1½ miles along the Bay Side Road to Tilghman Island Road before dividing into two forces.

3. Three companies of Royal Marines (300) under Rear-Admiral Cockburn marched 3 miles south along the Shore Road to the Kemp farm in search of a militia company.

4. Colonel Thomas Beckwith with the Independent Companies of Foreigners and Lt. Col. Charles Napier’s Royal Marines marched several miles along the St. Michaels Road to where Porter and Broad Creeks approached within a half-mile of each other 2 miltes from St. Michaels.

5. Here the British formed a line across the road while three British schooners came into view on the Miles River landing 11 barges at Hamilton’s Point west of town.

6. Brigadier-General Perry Benson formed his American lines with Captain Clement Vickers’ Talbot Volunteer Artillery (35) with three 6-pdrs across the creek narrows while the 4th Maryland (294) and 26th Maryland (436) Regiments and the 9th Cavalry District (114) occupied their flanks.

7. The British and American lines briefly exchanged musket and artillery fire before the British mysteriously withdrew. Colonel Beckwith’s forces re-embarked on the barges at Auld’s Point and returned to their ships. Admiral Cockburn’s forces likewise returned having only captured a few militiamen and burning two merchant vessels.

8. At 9am the British ships weighed anchor to rendezvous with the fleet at the north end of Kent Island. What prompted the larger British force to retire from the lesser militia lines remains unclear. Nevertheless for the second time the local Maryland militia had successfully defended the town.

BRITISH FORCES

A. Royal Marines (1,600)

B. Independent Companies of Foreigners (200)

C. Royal Marine Artillery (100)

D. Eleven British Barges

E. HMS Conflict

F. HMS Highflyer and schooners

1

2

3

EASTERN BAY

CHESAPEAKE BAY

TILGHMAN IS.

ROAD

AULD’S POINTBECKWITH

X

COCKBURN

X

E

Note: Gridlines are shown at intervals of 1km (0.62 mile)

SECOND BATTLE OF ST. MICHAELS, AUGUST 26, 1813A strong British force under Rear-Admiral Cockburn comes ashore before withdrawing in the face of American resistance.

50© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com

51

AMERICAN FORCES

1. 4th Maryland Regiment (294)

2. 26th Maryland Regiment (436)

3. 9th Cavalry District, Captain Isaac Bowdle (114)

4. Captain Vickers’ Artillery (35)

4

5

67

8

ST. MICHAEL’S BAY

BAY SIDE ROAD

CHURCH NECK

ROAD

PORTER CREEK

BROAD CREEK

ST. MICHAELS

BENSON

X

A B C

E

D

F

1

23

4


52

The temporary end of hostilities in Europe brought about by Napoleon’s defeat and the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau on April 11, 1814, gave Great Britain a sudden reserve of military manpower in order to create a large expeditionary force to prosecute the American war. With the bulk of the federal troops committed to the Niagara campaign in Canada the rest of the nation, and especially the Eastern Seaboard, was forced to rely on the militia for defense.

To meet the quota of militia demanded by the War Department Maryland had to raise 600 artillery and 5,400 infantry, a total of 6,000;

Joseph Hopper Nicholson

to fight hereafter, not for ‘free

trade and sailors’ rights,’ not for

the conquest of the Canadas,

May 20, 1814. A former US

Congressman, his militia

company served at Fort

McHenry. (Maryland Historical

Society)

THE LAST CAMPAIGN: 1814–15


53

while Virginia was expected to muster 1,200 artillery, 5,400 infantry and 5,400 cavalry, a total of 12,000. These would be supplemented by the remaining federal garrisons in Maryland at forts McHenry, Washington, Severn and Madison (Annapolis), as well as forts Nelson and Norfolk in Virginia. As an adjunct to these, earthen redoubts were also erected. Other federal forces available included 170 US Marines from the Washington Navy Yard and the naval forces (450) under Commodore John Rodgers and Joshua Barney’s 500 US Flotillamen.

In letters signed April 4 and May 19 the Admiralty instructed the new British commander, Vice-Admiral Cochrane, to use the military and naval forces “most expedient for His Majesty’s Service and the annoyance of the Enemy” with their deployment at his personal discretion. Vice-Admiral Cochrane had a total of 116 naval ships on the North American Station, with 19 ships-of-the-line, 37 frigates, 20 sloops, 23 brigs and seven schooners. In the stations of Jamaica and the West Indies there were another 360 ships. Rear-Admiral Pulteney Malcolm would also soon join Cochrane with a brigade of ten companies of Royal Marines (1,000) along with two companies of Royal Marine Artillery. At the same time as peace negotiations were underway in Ghent, Belgium, the British forces launched an all-out simultaneous assault on Lake Champlain-Plattsburgh, New York and the Chesapeake. This was the crucial period of the war, and the Chesapeake region was right at the center of it.

US CHESAPEAKE FLOTILLA, 1813–15

On July 4, 1813, Commodore Joshua Barney, having heard of the British raids at Havre-de-Grace and other towns on the Upper Chesapeake, submitted a plan entitled “Defense of the Chesapeake Bay, Etc.” to US Secretary of the Navy William Jones. In it he stated “the only defense we have in our power, is a kind of barge or row-galley, so constructed, as to draw a small draft of water, to carry oars, light sails, and one heavy gun … form them into a flying squadron, let them be continually watching and annoying the enemy in our waters, where we have the advantage of shoal water and flats in abundance throughout the Chesapeake.”

With his plan approved and equipped with 18 barges, the row-galley Vigilant and his flagship the USS Scorpion, Barney departed Baltimore in May 1814 for the southern Chesapeake to engage his naval adversary Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn in the Patuxent River region.

Barney sought out the British on June 1 off Cedar Point, Maryland, where he encountered HMS St. Lawrence, Loire, Narcissus and the sloop Jasseur. These vessels pursued Barney south to the Patuxent River then into the protected shallows of St. Leonard’s Creek. Unable to lure Barney out, the British began a series of raids up the Patuxent at Benedict, Prince Frederick, and Calverton, destroying tobacco warehouses, farms and taking some 2,000 tobacco hogsheads while landowners lamented personal economic losses. In a defensive move Barney ventured a counterattack. From June 8 to 10 he attacked the British blockading force, but was chased back in an engagement known as the first battle of St. Leonard’s Creek. On June 26, Barney succeeded in breaking out and his flotilla escaped upriver.


54

N

5 miles

5km

0

0

Lower Marlboro

Upper Marlboro

Nottingham

Pig Point

Prince Fredrick

Benedict

St. Leonard’s Town

C H E S A P E A K E

B A Y

Patuxent River

St. L

eona

rd’s

Cree

k

Hunt

ingt

onCr

eek

Battle of St. Leonard’s CreekJune 10, 26

Battle of Cedar Point

June 1

US Flotilla scuttled, August 22

British Army route to Washington

from BenedictAugust 19–23

British campAugust 22

British campAugust 21

CovePoint

Drum Point

Cedar Point

Point Patience

ST. MARY’SCOUNTY

CALVERTCOUNTY

ANNE ARUNDELCOUNTY

CHARLESCOUNTY

PRINCE GEORGE’SCOUNTY

US Flotilla

British Army

British FlotillaHer r ing Bay

To Washington

The Patuxent River campaigns, summer 1814


55

On August 19 the British expeditionary military forces landed at Benedict on the Patuxent. While the land forces marched northward, Rear-Admiral Cockburn’s flotilla of 1,780 seamen and Royal Marines proceeded up the Patuxent River to protect the right flank of the land forces and seek the elusive US Chesapeake Flotilla. Cockburn pursued up the Patuxent to Pig Point as far as navigation allowed. On August 22 the US Flotilla finally met their end. At 11.00am, 42 miles up the Patuxent, the flotilla was sighted and Cockburn’s barges began their assault. After three months of futile attempts to defend the bay tidewater the flotilla was scuttled in a series of explosions to prevent capture and the 400 flotillamen marched towards the capital. At Upper Marlboro the two British forces combined and began the march northward towards Washington.

The other significant change in American military organization for the campaign came with the creation of the 10th Military District on July 2, which embraced Maryland, the District of Columbia and the part of Virginia from the Rappahannock River north to the Potomac. In command was Brigadier-General William Henry Winder, nephew of the federalist Governor of Maryland. Winder was recently paroled from his capture a year before at Stoney Creek, Ontario, and had been given a command he would be unable to manage effectively owing to political disputes in Washington.

To meet the US War Department militia quota, the District of Columbia provided 2,000 men, Maryland 6,000, and Virginia 12,000. These were exclusive of the US regulars (734) at forts McHenry (Baltimore) and Washington (Alexandria), and forts Madison and Severn, which guarded Annapolis harbor. The District of Columbia forces consisted of the 1st and 2nd Columbian Brigades (1,520) and a legion of cavalry. It would be these brigades along with those from Maryland that would provide the forces for the defense of Washington on August 24.

INVASION, AUGUST 1814

On August 1, British naval reinforcements left St. George, Bermuda, for the Chesapeake with the 56-year-old Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane as the newly appointed commander-in-chief. Rear-Admiral Cockburn assured Cochrane that “within forty-hours after the arrival in the Patuxent of such a force as you expect, the City of Washington might be possessed without any difficulty or opposition of any kind.”

African American US

Flotillaman. Among the men

that made up the US

Chesapeake Flotilla was African

American Charles Ball, who

fought during the

campaigns and later published

his memoirs A Narrative of the

Life and Adventures of Charles

Ball, a Black Man, 1836. (Keith

Rocco, 1986)


56

Washington, Annapolis and Baltimore were the likely targets in the final invasion of the Chesapeake and the Maryland and Virginia militia were called into federal service, while the US Naval Secretary ordered Captains John Rodgers, David Porter, and Oliver Hazard Perry to Baltimore and then to Washington.

Rear-Admiral Pulteney Malcolm on board his flagship Royal Oak (80) convoyed the expeditionary forces under Major-General Robert Ross from Bordeaux, France, to the Chesapeake to join the waiting bay squadrons of Cochrane and Cockburn. Their combined naval forces consisted on 50 ships-of-the-line, frigates of various rates, bomb ships, brigs, schooners and eighty landing barges of various sizes. Midshipman Robert Barrett, RN observed that here was “a splendid array of gallant and meritorious officers whose skill and bravery were conspicuously registered in the annals of fame” many of whom had served at the battle of Trafalgar.

This amphibious force was intended to divert attention from the American operations on the Canadian frontier at Lake Champlain and Plattsburgh, New York. In an additional attempt to deceive the Americans, Cochrane ordered two naval diversions – one up the Potomac, the other to the headwaters of the Upper Chesapeake.

The British landing at Benedict, Md., consisted of three divisions of 53 barges, launches, cutters, and pinnaces, and observing the landing was Major-General James Wilkinson (1757–1825), who had led two ill-fated American invasions of Canada that culminated at the battles of Chrysler’s Field (November 11, 1813) and Lacolle Mills (March 30, 1814). He stated that, “No doubt they are for the city of Washington, and will be there by Sunday … there can be no doubt that Barney’s flotilla is the first object of attack, and will of course be destroyed, as no adequate defense can be made against such numbers.” Wilkinson’s prophecy was to come true, and it was only with the advance of the British that Winder’s army – an ill-organized mix of 7,000 regulars and militia – began to assemble.

At Benedict, Md., 21 miles up

the Patuxent River from the

Chesapeake, the British fleet of

50 warships anchored and

landed their expeditionary

forces to march northward

parallel to the naval forces to

chase the elusive American

flotilla to Bladensburg, Md.

(Ralph E. Eshelman)


57

THE FIELD OF BLADENSBURG

“Nothing was wanting to insure a complete victory, but a General.”Capt. James M. Varnum, 2nd Regt., 1st Columbian Brigade, 1814

Five roads led into Bladensburg from Upper Marlboro, Annapolis, Baltimore, Georgetown and Piscataway. From the Patuxent the British took the Upper Marlboro Road moving northwest. Major-General Wilkinson expressed his annoyance that, “Not a single bridge was broken, not a causeway destroyed, not an inundation attempted, not a tree fallen, not a road of the road obstructed, nor a gun fired at the Enemy, in a march of forty miles, from Benedict to Upper Marlboro, by a route on which there are ten or a dozen difficult defiles… The attack on Washington may have been avoided, but the art of war depends upon an infinity of unforeseen contingencies.”

On Sunday, August 21, with the British force nearing the city, Washington’s civilians hurriedly packed and fled as Winder gathered 2,000 militia at the Wood Yard Camp, expecting reinforcements that would not arrive in time. At Bladensburg, Brigadier-General Stansbury’s Baltimore militia (2,000) arrived, encamped along the Bladensburg Road, and awaited orders. A British diversionary military feint towards the Wood Yard only contributed to the American military confusion regarding the route the British army were intent on taking, resulting in the Americans countermarching, adding only to their fatigue upon their arrival late at Bladensburg on August 24.

On Tuesday, August 23, realizing the British had now moved northward and bypassed the Wood Yard, Winder began moving towards Bladensburg as time was running out for a defensive strategy with the uncertainty as to the intended route, one of three, the British would take towards the American capitol. Without adequate supplies, water, and food and amidst an intense summer heat the militia were worn out by three days of marching and countermarching. As one observer noted they were “beaten by fatigue.”

Major John S. Williams of the Columbian Brigade realized there were three possible British routes towards the capital. First, an eastern approach by Bladensburg Road; second, a direct southern approach via the Eastern Branch Bridge over the Anacostia River; and third, a combination of the above routes coupled with a naval attack up the Potomac River. The uncertainty about where the attack would come from was the American Achilles heel.

As the British passed Nottingham and Lower Marlboro, parallel to the British naval advance on the Patuxent, it became clear that Washington was the target. When Major Gen. Robert Ross, commanding the expeditionary forces that had accompanied Rear-Admiral Malcolm to the Chesapeake, reached Upper Marlboro he hesitated, having already marched 50 miles away from the protection of the British fleet. On August 23, Cockburn came ashore for a meeting to persuade the general that the capture of the American capital was within his power, despite being advised by his commanding officer Cochrane that with the destruction of the US Chesapeake Flotilla the Army should withdraw. Under pressure from Cockburn to push on, Ross later recalled he relented only with caution, stating that having “ascertained the force of the enemy to be such as might authorize an attempt at carrying the capital, I determined to make it.”

By 10.00am on Wednesday, August 24, the British had resumed their march on the Bladensburg Road and were moving rapidly forward. By


58

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Pescataway Road

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altim

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The Battle of Bladensburg, August 24, 1814


59

midday on the same day Winder had joined the Baltimore militia at Bladensburg. The road to Washington passed through Bladensburg, then over the Anacostia River upon a narrow wooden bridge – the “Thermopylae Pass” as it were – with Washington only 4 miles away.

On the western rising heights beyond the bridge, Brig. Gen. William Winder’s force of some 7,000 US regulars and militia were only now arriving and taking field positions. Some of the militia were clothed in their State regimental colors, others in ordinary shooting-jackets and hunting frocks. It was an irregular force unprepared to face disciplined, battle-hardened veterans.

Brigadier-General Tobias E. Stansbury (1756–1849), of Baltimore’s 11th Brigade, commanded 2,000 militia who “were worn down and nearly exhausted from long and forced marches, want of food … under arms and marching from the time of their departure from Baltimore [20 August]… They certainly were not in a situation to go into battle.”

At midday the British entered Bladensburg where the Anacostia could easily be forded for a quick assault on the American heights west of the town. Only then did, Winder and Col. William D. Beall’s 17th Maryland Regiment arrived on the field with 2,000 men. To add to the confusion Secretary of State James Monroe and Secretary of War John Armstrong along with their aides were also on the files giving orders during the final hour of preparations. Even aide-de-camp Francis Scott Key was assigning field assignments.

The British columns advancing towards Bladensburg consisted of the 1st (Light) Brigade commanded by Col. William Thornton, with the 85th Regiment (516), the light companies of the 4th Regiment (630), the 21st Regiment (884), and Lt. Col. Thomas Mullins’ 44th East Essex Regiment (610).

On August 24,

1814, Captain Samuel Miller’s

120 US Marines with 450 sailors

from the US Flotilla attempted

to repel the British 85th

Regiment in the final American

stand at Bladensburg. (Art

Collection, National Museum of

the Marine Corps, Virginia)


6262

BLADENSBURG BRIDGE, AUGUST 24, 1814 (PP. 60–61)

Having left their camp some 15 miles away at 5.00am the British

approach the village of Bladensburg outside of the American

capital at midday. The crossing of the Bladensburg Bridge is the

assault the first of three entrenched American lines. Soon after

midday the 1st (Light) Brigade led by Col. William Thornton (1)

(2) and

the light infantry of the 4th, 21st, and 44th Regiments have just

passed through town where they were met by American

skirmishers who soon withdrew across the river. Colonel

Thornton, not waiting for the arrival of the other brigades, pushes

forward with the 85th across the narrow Bladensburg Bridge (3)

over the Anacostia River where the shallowness of the water

allows many to wade across on either side (4). The initial British

assault crossing is repulsed, but the British then make a second

successful assault with support of artillery and Congreve rockets

against the first American militia lines held by Maj. William

Pinkney’s 1st Battalion of Maryland Riflemen and two Baltimore

companies of the Franklin Artillery and American Artillery on the

lower heights. The remainder of the British Army has yet to cross

under Col. Arthur Brooke commanding the 2nd Brigade of the 4th

and 44th Regiments. The crossing is ultimately successful as the

British now push up the heights with Col. Brooke’s arrival towards

the second and final third lines meeting with fierce fire. The

American lines one after another fail to hold and by late afternoon

the battle will be over and the way to the American capital will be

open.

2

3

4

1


63

The 2nd Brigade under Col. Arthur Brooke contained the remainder of the 4th Regiment and the 44th Regiment. The 3rd Brigade was largely made up of the 21st Regiment. The Naval Brigade consisted of the 2nd Battalion Royal Marines (687), with two companies of the Corps of Colonial Marines (200), Royal Marine Artillery (11), Royal Sappers and Miners (56) and Royal Naval seamen (247). In all the brigades formed an aggregate estimated force of 4,432. However, the 1,800 men of the Naval Brigade were still marching towards Bladensburg and would not take an active role in the battle while others continued to guard various posts along the route to Washington from the Patuxent.

The first and second American defense lines were commanded by Brig. Gen. Tobias Stansbury along with his Baltimore Brigade, which consisted of the 5th Maryland Regiment (500), Major William Pinkney’s 1st Maryland Rifle Battalion (150) and two companies of the 1st Maryland Regiment of Artillery under Captains Richard Magruder (110) and Joseph Myers (76), each with three 6-pdrs. They opened fire upon the Anacostia bridge crossing as the British 85th Regiment began their assault over the bridge, supported by Congreve rockets launched at the American positions. The 85th Regiment, followed by the 4th Regiment, forded the river to assault the American left flank and then closed in on the artillery positioned in the center to silence the guns. Although the initial assault was repulsed, the American forces began to crumble under the frontal and flanking assaults of the 85th Regiment, who began to push forward towards the second American line, which consisted of Capt. Joseph Sterrett’s 5th Maryland Regiment (500), Capt. Benjamin Burch’s five 6-pdrs (65), Lt. Col. Jonathan Schutz’s 2nd Maryland Regiment and Lt. Col. John Ragan’s 1st Maryland Regiment. The American militia lines gave way in a hasty retreat from the field towards Washington leaving only the third and final American line to confront the entire British Army that were surging forward in the center and around the flanks.

A more than hopeless situation could not have been imagined. This consisted of Lt. Col. Winfield Scott’s 36th and 38th US Infantry (400), Brig. Gen. Walter Smith’s detachments of the 1st Columbian Br igade , supported by Capt. George Peter’s Georgetown Field Artillery with six 6-pdrs (75), the remnants of US Chesapeake Flotilla (400) and three 18-pdrs under Commodore Joshua Barney along with a detachment of US Marines (120); finally Col. William D. Beall’s 17th Maryland Regiment (500) arrived late in the day from Annapolis. In a desperate last stand the men of the US Flotilla and the US Marines fired their three 18-pdrs and

Cartoon showing President

James Madison and probably

John Armstrong, his secretary

of war, both with bundles of

papers, fleeing from

Washington, with burning

buildings behind them. (Library

of Congress)


64

then launched a frontal counterattack against the British 85th Regiment with cutlasses, boarding pikes and pistols. This desperate attack succeeded in driving the 85th Regiment back at Tunecliffe’s Bridge, but Maj. Gen. Ross rallied his men and retook the ground, with Barney wounded, captured and then paroled on the spot by Ross himself. Black flotillaman Charles Ball surmises that if the 18-pdr field guns had been brought to bear on the British “as they crossed the bridge, we should have killed or taken the whole of them in a short time; but the militia ran like sheep, chased by dogs.” The road to Washington and the US capital now laid wide open.

With the British in command of the field, the Americans fled in a humiliating retreat later described in an epic poem entitled “The Bladensburg Races.” The only redeeming note was the heroic but futile stand by Barney’s US Flotilla and the US Marines.

Washington and Georgetown were filled with a pandemonium of refugees, wagons, soldiers and cavalry all in a westward flight. US State Department clerk Stephen Pleasonton took upon himself to safeguard the US Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, various treaties, and the correspondence of George Washington.

The retreat was rapid and disorderly, despite an attempt by the district militia to rally on Capitol Hill. The British were exhausted, not only from the battle but also the 15-mile march that morning, and were to follow up their advantage in a close pursuit of the retreating Americans. However, by that evening the British were in Washington. The US Capitol was torched, followed by the President’s House, then the War and Treasury Departments. The next day the British entered the US Greenleaf Point Arsenal after the Americans set fire to the Washington Navy Yard and the US frigate Columbia to prevent their capture. Winder and the remnants of the American Army retreated to Montgomery Courthouse at Rockville, Md., before falling back to Baltimore.

US Capitol after burning by the

British (c.1814). A watercolor

showing the ruins of the US

Capitol with damage to the

Senate and House wings,

showing the empty shell of the

rotunda and the facade and

roof missing. (Library of

Congress)


65

On the night of August 24/25 the illuminated Washington skies were seen by Baltimoreans some 40 miles away. By 1.00am, the British had completed their destruction and severe thunderstorms swept over the city extinguishing the flames while rooftops toppled and trees uprooted. Both armies were deluged and windswept.

Leaving Washington on August 25, the British marched back to Benedict some 50 miles away taking their wounded with them; they were followed by negroes attaching themselves to the Army’s rear-guard. Ironically a news editorial published that morning read: “We feel assured that the numbers and bravery of our men will afford complete protection of the city.” Private David Winchester of the 5th Maryland Regiment lamented: “But to my sorrow it is not to end here. We expect every instant to hear that they have taken up the line of march for this place [Baltimore], and if they do, we are gone.”

Flight of the PresidentWith the American lines faltering, President Madison and his cabinet staff rode west through Georgetown, then temporarily to Virginia, crossing the Potomac River northwest of the capitol. On the evening of August 26, the President and his cabinet, guarded by Virginia General John Mason’s 20 Virginia dragoons, made their way to the home of postmaster Caleb

LEFT

composite view of the

campaign showing the US

by the flotillamen on the

Patuxent (foreground).

Afterwards the British advance

on Bladensburg (right) and the

burning of Washington (center).


BELOW

As the British marched towards

the White House, Mrs Madison

hurried to ensure that the

Gilbert Stuart portrait of

George Washington had been

taken from its frame. Dolley

barely escaped, fleeing with Lt.

Clerk Stephen Pleasonton and

the government documents.



66

Bentley at the Maryland crossroads village of Brookeville. Here for the next 15 hours was the official residence of the President of the United States who was trying to come to terms with what had happened. The President and First Lady Dolley Madison, who had fled separately, were now reunited. They found Brookeville occupied by refugees, wagons filled with families, and soldiers and civilians huddled by campfires. On the 27th, the Madisons returned to the capital only to find the White House in ruins.

MIDDLE PASSAGE: POTOMAC TO ALEXANDRIA, AUGUST 17 TO SEPTEMBER 5, 1814

No sooner had Washington recovered from its fiery occupation than another advance was being made. On August 17, Captain James Alexander Gordon had been ordered up the Potomac “for the purpose of keeping the county bordering the river in a state of alarm.” His command consisted of the frigates HMS Euryalus and Seahorse, rocket ship Erebus, and the bomb ships Etna, Devastation, Meteor and a dispatch schooner Anna Maria. Second in command was Captain Charles Napier, who later led a diversionary naval assault during the campaign for Baltimore. Gordon led his flotilla up a 100-mile, 12-day difficult passage up the Potomac River to the port of Alexandria.

The Potomac River, the nation’s middle passage of commerce, winds its southerly course from Alexandria to the Chesapeake Bay, passing the 18th-century estates of Light Horse Henry Lee, George Mason’s Gunston Hall,

A caricature

showing the capture of

Alexandria, with the British

officers saying they must have

everything the port has to offer,

and Perry, keep them out of my

sight, I’ve had enough of them


67

and Washington’s Mount Vernon. The squadron was not less than twenty times aground while kedging their way up river. To engage in this second offensive, Captains Oliver Hazard Perry, David Porter and John Rodgers were ordered from Baltimore to engage the British on their return voyage from Alexandria. British pickets established a line of communications from Benedict to the Potomac River, thus enfilading the peninsula and keeping in contact with Captain Gordon’s flotilla sailing up the Potomac.

The British flotilla on their approach to Alexandria came within sight of Fort Washington, the brick guardian of the Potomac. Captain Samuel T. Dyson commanded the garrison of 80 men, and a visitor to the fort proudly recalled, “I think it will effectually protect the place from being taken by three times the number who may defend it.”

On August 27 at 5.00pm, while the flotilla passed Mount Vernon high on the Virginia bluffs, Gordon ordered his ship’s fore topsails lowered as a salute as the ship’s music played “Washington’s March.” To the east the British

Rear-Admiral Sir James

In August 1814 the then

Captain Gordon commanded a

12-day expedition up the

Potomac River. This was an

extraordinary naval

accomplishment taking Fort

Washington and Alexandria

then rejoining the fleet for the

attack on Baltimore. (National

Maritime Museum, Greenwich,

London)


68

Army had continued their march to Washington and made a westward feint towards Fort Washington where rumors of a land attack were passed on to Capt. Dyson. His orders were “that in the event of his being taken in the rear of the fort by the enemy, to blow up the fort.”

At 6.00pm the British flotilla opened upon the fort and with Capt. Dyson fearing an attack from the landward side, he abandoned the fort and retreated. Unfortunately for Dyson, the rumored land attack never materialized and later faced a court martial for abandonment of his post. Captain Gordon was at a loss to account for the American retreat and, on August 28, the British took possession of the fort just as a violent explosion ripped it apart. A British soldier accidentally dropped a lighted port-fire into the well where the garrison had thrown barrels of gunpowder. No matter, for the British the passage to Alexandria was now clear.

With pleas for assistance unanswered, Alexandria capitulated rather than be bombarded and the British remained there for three days while, “The merchants stand by, viewing with melancholy countenance the British sailors gutting their warehouses of their contents.”

Commodore John Rodgers

of the Navy, commanded the

US frigate Guerriere in

Philadelphia, and marched to

Baltimore then Washington to

harass Captain Gordon’s

flotilla’s return passage down

the Potomac. Afterwards he

commanded the naval forces at

Baltimore in 1814.

(Independence National

Historical Park, NPS)


69

Meanwhile, Captains Porter and Perry constructed shore batteries White House, Va., and Indian Head Pt., Md., to slow the British return passage, while Rear-Admiral Cochrane waited with the assembled fleet for Gordon’s flotilla at the mouth of the Potomac. In order to commence his assault against Baltimore, Cochrane would need the bomb ships that had accompanied the Potomac squadron. On his return passage down river, Gordon was harassed day and night by the shore batteries and by Rodgers’ flotilla of barges and fire vessels. However, by September 5 Gordon had successfully passed the American gauntlet of shore batteries and re-entered the bay.

By August 1814, there were unconfirmed reports of 15,000 fresh British troops on their way to America under Lieutenant-General Rowland Hill, one of the Duke of Wellington’s most trusted deputies and, like Ross, a veteran of the Peninsula campaigns. In London, Hill suggested such a command would be “sufficient to chastise the Yankees, and bring the war to a speedy termination … though it will be politic to keep up the idea of a large force going to America.” On August 10, Secretary of State Lord Bathurst informed Hill that this was not to be.

However, on September 17 Vice-Admiral Cochrane was still expecting reinforcements and wrote to Lord Melville “the ball is at our feet, - and give me but Six thousand Men - Including a Rifle and Cavalry Regt., and I will engage to master every Town South of Philadelphia and keep the Whole Coast in such a State of Alarm, as soon to bring the Most Obstinate upon their Marrow bones.” Such were the rumors of the day.

CAULK’S FIELD, AUGUST 31, 1814

Cochrane had ordered a second naval diversion to add to American confusion over the British intentions, and Captain Peter Parker was ordered to take the frigate HMS Menelaus to the upper bay above Chesapeake for “the purpose of cutting off all communications and to threaten & annoy the enemy in that quarter.” The militia engagement that occurred on Maryland’s Upper Eastern Shore on August 30/31 against the Menelaus’ Royal Marines and sailors (260) was a rare midnight encounter.

Reaching the upper bay Captain Parker was informed that a militia camp was only about a mile from the beach and on August 29 the Menelaus

Captain Sir Peter Parker, RN

the battle of Caulk’s Field where

on a moonlit night he was

killed in the assault. In April

1815, his ship HMS Menelaus

was the last of the British

warships to leave the

Chesapeake. (National Maritime



7272

THE BRITISH ASSAULT ONTO CAULK’S FIELD, AUGUST 31, 1814 (PP. 70–71)

A naval diversionary assault leads Captain Peter Parker and the

crew of the frigate HMS Menelaus to land on Maryland’s Upper

Eastern Shore in a rare midnight raid where they engage the Kent

County militia of Lt. Col. Philip Reed’s 21st Maryland Regiment in

an attempt to destroy their camp and supplies. The British Royal

Marines and seamen land at what is today Parker’s Point. Captain

Parker’s element of surprise is lost when they soon encounter a

small American scouting party who gave the alarm. One of them

is captured and his horse taken by Parker.

Having marched 3 miles the British soon approach along the

Caulk’s farm field. The Royal Marines and seamen emerge from

the wooded road onto the battlefield in two divisions and engage

a firing skirmish line of American riflemen from the woods who

are soon dispersed. Dashing forward, the Royal Marines are met

by the first of two American lines (1), the first now retreating to

the second and main defensive line held by artillery and musketry.

Pushing forward, Captain Parker (2), mounted on his captured

horse leads the Royal Marines towards the center of the American

lines while Lt. Henry Crease leads 75 sailors to the American right

(3) and Lt. Pearce leads 75 sailors to the American left to engage

the main militia lines. Captain Parker, while encouraging his men

forward, falls mortally wounded from musket fire. The Americans,

short of artillery and small arms ammunition soon withdraw from

the field and retreat steadily back towards Chestertown.

2

3

1


73

arrived offshore, 6 miles west of Chestertown where Lt. Col. Philip Reed’s 21st Regiment of militia (175) was encamped.

Parker immediately determined to attack the following night for “one more frolic with the Yankees.” Writing to his wife he explained, “I am just going on desperate service, and entirely depend upon valor and example for its successful issue.”

At 10.00pm on the 30th, Captain Parker set off from the Menelaus with 50 Royal Marines and 200 seamen. The seamen were divided into two divisions, the first commanded by Lieutenant Henry Crease and the second by Lieutenant Robert Pearce; the captain himself led the Royal Marines. A midshipman recalled, “It was the height of madness to advance into the interior of a country we knew nothing about, led by a black man, whose sincerity in our cause was very questionable.” The black man was one of two runaway slaves from a nearby shore farm who led the British through the country towards Caulk’s Field.

At 11.00pm, the Royal Marines landed and made their way towards the militia camp but the element of surprise that Captain Parker had hoped for vanished when they were sighted by militia dragoons. Undaunted the British pressed onward. At 1.00am on August 31 the British reached the American camp where Lt. Col. Reed had deployed his militia into two defensive lines on the higher ground above Caulk’s Field Road.

Ahead of the first skirmish line on the American left, hidden in the woods, Reed waited with a detachment of Captain Simon Wickes’s rifle company (26) covered by a wooded narrow defile in the road. The British emerged from the Georgetown Road through a defile onto Caulk’s Field and advanced towards the American lines. The riflemen opened with a well-directed fire then retired to the main lines on the American left flank. The British moved forward up a gentle ascent to the summit where the militia had three 6-pdr field guns.

Having received the initial British assault, the riflemen retired to the crest of the rise where the position was anchored by Captain Aquilla Usselton’s and Lt. Tilghman’s three 6-pdr field guns, placed near and center of Caulk’s Field Road. On the left and right flanks were the infantry companies of Captains Hyson (7), Griffith (12), Page (31) and Chambers (48). At a range of 70 paces volleys of musket and artillery fire poured down on the British marines and sailors from the American lines. The British returned fire while Captain Parker with Royal Marines struck the center, Lt. Pierce struck off to the right and the bluejackets under Lt. Crease advanced on the American left.

watercolor done by Lieutenant

Commander Henry Crease soon

after the battle to go with his

official report to the Admiralty.

In the lower center the British

pass through a defile and

approach the American lines.

(Scott Sheads)


74

Captain Parker pushed forward on a captured horse waving his Turkish sword and encouraging the Royal Marines “Forward! Forward!” into a bayonet charge. He fell having received a mortal wound in his right thigh that cut his femoral artery, causing him to bleed to death. The British pressed on, gaining the rise of ground while the militia retreated having nearly run out of ammunition. Lieutenant Crease claimed it was impossible to close in because of the rapidity of the militia retreat and thought “it prudent to retire,” with 25 wounded.

By 3.00am the British had reached the Menelaus anchored offshore and on September 1 a flag of truce was

sent ashore to recover the eight dead and wounded marines and seamen left on the battlefield, as well as to parley for prisoner exchange. The news reached Baltimore as “a brilliant achievement” with Reed’s conduct described as “very cool, judicious and intrepid.” Though not an outright American victory it boosted the morale of the men defending Baltimore.

Captain Parker’s death was a serious loss as he was considered one of England’s most promising young naval officers. Eighty-eight years later, on October 18, 1902, a monument was erected at the Caulk’s Field battlefield sharing the field of honor with the victors as well as the fallen of both Britain and America. The Menelaus sailed south to join the fleet already in the Patapsco River below Baltimore.

THE BATTLE OF NORTH POINT, SEPTEMBER 12, 1814

The news of Caulk’s Field reached Baltimore, the third-largest city in the US with a population of 50,000, one fifth of whom were West Indian blacks nearly half of whom were free and entitled to own property. The city docks and warehouses were full of British prize goods, military supplies and rich “Patuxent tobacco.” At Fell’s Point were the US and private shipyards, home of privateers and two US sloops of war, Ontario and Erie, and the newly launched US frigate Java. Guarding the harbor entrance was the earthen and brick star-bastion Fort McHenry garrisoned by the US Corps of Artillery (60), militia artillery (300), the 36th and 38th US Infantry (600) and the remnants of the US Flotilla (75), all commanded by Major George Armistead. Across the 600ft-wide channel was the Lazaretto Battery of three 18-pdr field guns manned by 450 men of the US Flotilla, with sunken vessels and a chain-mast boom stretched across to block the channel.

At 3.00pm on September 11, Brig. Gen. John Stricker’s 3rd Brigade of 3,185 militia marched 6 miles from Baltimore to encamp at the Trappe–North Point crossroads where the center of the American battle lines would

Looking south

from Hampstead Hill where

15,000 militia were entrenched,

the docks of Fell’s Point are

seen, while in the center

background is Fort McHenry

and the Patapsco River. (Scott

Sheads)


75

form the next day. Stricker’s strategy was to carry on a succession of skirmishes rather than a pitched battle, and this accounted for his decision to leave some 30 pieces of field artillery at Baltimore, with only Capt. John Montgomery’s Baltimore Union Artillery of four 6-pdr guns left to command the North Point Road at the center of the American lines.

In the early hours of September 12, 80 landing launches from the fleet of 50 British warships landed at North Point, 10 miles below Baltimore. At 6.00am, a sudden explosion echoed in Baltimore harbor as the bomb ship HMS Terror fired the first 190-pound cast-iron shell towards Fort McHenry to find the range; the following day would be the occasion for the main bombardment. On land, with only a blanket and three days’ rations each, the British columns began their march up the North Point Road. The 1st (Light) Brigade consisted of the 85th (900), 4th (985), and 21st (1,000) Regiments along with the light companies of the 44th (675); the 2nd Brigade, commanded by Col. Arthur Brooke, consisted of the 1st Battalions of the 21st and 44th Regiments; and the 3rd Brigade, commanded by Lt. Col. Patterson, consisted of the 21st Regiment, 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Royal Marines (1,300). Also attached was Capt. Edward Crofton’s Naval Brigade (600). In all, an aggregate force of some 4,760 men. Their artillery consisted of four bronze 9-pdrs, a 5½in. howitzer and the Royal Rocket Artillery with Congreve rockets. Passing through an unfinished line of earthen breastworks across the road the British pressed onward from the head of Humphrey’s Creek.

When they encountered the first British skirmishers, Maj. William Pinkney’s Rifle Battalion (226) began falling back along with Capt. James Sterrett’s 1st Baltimore Hussars (62) to Stricker’s main lines. Having taken the unfinished entrenchments, the British halted at Robert Gorsuch’s farm

c.1820. Brigadier-General John

Stricker and other officers

correct representation of the

foreground is the 3rd Brigade

facing the British Army.



76

where Maj. Gen. Ross and Rear-Admiral Cockburn enjoyed breakfast while they waited for the main columns to move forward.

Major Pinkney’s skirmishers took post on the right flank of Stricker’s line at Bear Creek while the 27th Maryland (710) occupied the left flank that extended to Back River. Captain Montgomery’s Baltimore Union Artillery (91) occupied the North Point Road with four 6-pdr field guns. Three hundred yards to the rear of the main line was a second defensive line composed of the 39th (383) and 51st (700) Maryland Regiments, and finally, a mile to the rear and on rising ground the 6th Maryland Regiment (761) formed a reserve line.

Around noon Stricker sent forward a second skirmish line under Maj. Richard K. Heath consisting of 250 militia in an effort to provoke an engagement before nightfall. The force consisted of Capt. Aaron R. Levering’s Independent Blues (88), Capt. Benjamin C. Howard’s First Mechanical Volunteers (60), Capt. John Montgomery’s four 6-pdr guns of the Baltimore Union Artillery (91), Lt. Stephen H. Cone’s 1st Baltimore Sharp Shooters (68) and the cavalry of Capt. James Sterrett’s 1st Baltimore Hussars (62) cavalry. Major Heath moved forward only to find that the British had appeared with a much larger force than had been in the first skirmish.

At the Gorsuch farm, 2 miles from Stricker’s lines, Ross and Cockburn awaited their light infantry columns to arrive while three captured American dragoons were brought in and interrogated by Ross. He questioned them as to the strength of militia that awaited them and announced that he did not care if it rained militia for “I shall sup in Baltimore or in hell.” At 1.30pm

skirmish prior to the battle of

North Point with the First

Baltimore Sharp Shooters

(background) mortally

wounding Major-General Ross.

Baltimore Mechanical

Volunteers. (Lilly Library,

Indiana University)


77

Ross and Cockburn mounted their horses with an advance force of 50 men of the 85th Foot to reconnoiter a British picket that had made contact with the American skirmishers.

On a grassy knoll along the North Point Road, the brilliance of Ross’s reconnoitering party “gaily dressed, and glittering in all the bravery of scarlet and gold” assured Capt. Aisquith’s 1st Baltimore Sharp Shooters that the group included Ross himself. The British found themselves in an exchange of fire with the riflemen, who were concealed behind trees and the recesses of a post-rail fence. From this position the Americans fired their fatal volleys. Ross, realizing a superior force was ahead of him, turned his horse to urge the light infantry onwards, while telling Cockburn he would “bring up the column.” In this brief moment an American ball found its mark and Ross fell. The riflemen then fell back within the tree line bordering the open field.

The brief confusion left the British wavering and uncertain and affording an opportunity for the militia light infantry to open wide gaps in the English ranks. However, Colonel Arthur Brooke of the 44th Foot assumed the British command and pressed the militia back on Stricker’s main body. Ross, mortally wounded, was conveyed back to the fleet and taken on board HMS Royal Oak (80) eight hours after being shot.

c.1859. This romanticized scene

shows Maj. Gen. Ross falling off

his horse into the arms of his

aide-de-camp,Captain Duncan

MacDougall. (Scott Sheads)


8080

THE DEATH OF MAJ. GEN. ROBERT ROSS, SEPTEMBER 12, 1814 (PP. 78–79)

Shortly before the beginning of the battle of North Point proper

at 1.00pm, American rifle skirmishers encountered a British

forward guard of the 85th Light Infantry along the North Point

Road. Earlier in the pre-dawn hours the British Army had landed

and were now marching towards Baltimore. Major-General

Robert Ross (1) and his staff, with Rear-Admiral Cockburn (2)

acting as a naval aide-de-camp, ride forward to reconnoiter the

unexpected firing. They are confronted by American militia led by

Maj. Richard Key Heath, with Capt. Benjamin C. Howard’s 1st

Mechanical Volunteers and Capt. Aaron Levering’s Independent

Blues, both of the 5th Maryland Regiment; and Capt. Edward

Aisquith’s 1st Baltimore Sharp Shooters, 1st Battalion of Maryland

Riflemen. Ross turns his horse to order up the 85th Light Infantry

column now arriving. To the left amidst the woods and an open

field, along a grass line post-rail fence and brush, two privates of

the 1st Baltimore Sharp Shooters, Daniel Wells and William

McComas (3), find their target among the British observation

corps of officers who were upon a grassy knoll “gaily dressed, and

glittering in all the bravery of scarlet and gold” and fired. An

American ball finds its mark and Ross, mortally wounded, falls

into the arms of his aide-de-camp.

The confusion that followed with the loss of Major-General

Ross left both skirmish lines wavering and uncertain, each

pouring opposing deadly volleys of ball and independent rifle

fire. A general skirmish ensues as the main column of the 85th

Regiment comes into view from the wooded road. The American

militia companies retreat steadily back to the main militia lines, a

mile to the rear, under Brigadier-General John Stricker,

commander of Baltimore’s 3rd Brigade, where the main battle of

North Point will begin shortly thereafter.

2

3

1


81

At 1.00pm the battle of North Point began proper. Stricker formed the 3rd Brigade into three defensive lines. The Baltimore Union Artillery situated on the North Point Road was flanked on the left by the 27th Regiment and on the right by the 5th Regiment. If necessary, the first line would fall back 300 yards to the second line, composed of the 51st and 39th Maryland, with the 6th Maryland held in reserve. With his troops in place, Stricker awaited the inevitable attack.

At 2.00pm the opposing armies formed parallel lines and commenced musket volleys while Congreve rockets soared over the American lines. Cockburn and Brooke rode behind the British lines, encouraging their troops before ordering the advance. Lieutenant John Lawrence’s Royal Rocket Artillery of two 9-pdrs and a 5½in. howitzer scourged the American center and left flank held by the 27th Maryland Regiment.

Stricker brought forward the 51st and 39th Maryland to the left of the 27th Maryland in an effort to hold the lines, while two of Montgomery’s 6-pdrs were shifted to bolster the position. The 85th Foot continued to press forward with the opposing lines fully engaged. Even at a distance of only 20 yards, the dense smoke prevented either side seeing each other.

At 3.00pm lines of the 39th and 51st Regiments wavered following a complicated maneuver to form a right angle to counter the attack on the left. They gave way, with the 27th Regiment’s Washington Blues the last to hold the line. Stricker, realizing he could no longer hold his position, fell back to the reserve line held by the 6th Maryland under Col. William McDonald before withdrawing back to Baltimore in an orderly retreat. They took post on the left upon Hampstead Hill beside Commodore John Rodgers’ naval brigade (350), manning the entrenchments and artillery redoubts.

The British encamped that night on the battlefield. Lieutenant James Scott, RN commented that, “A field of battle is a sickening sight when the fever of the blood has cooled, and the enthusiasm of desperate strike subsided into calm reflection.” US Army surgeon Dr James H. McCulloh, Jr, passed through the lines and treated the American wounded – the only officer to visit the battlefield. Royal Marines, sailors and the British black Colonial Corps (200) advanced with assault ladders, powder kegs and rum. Here McCulloh received the first account of Ross’s death.

The British losses amounted to 39 killed and 251 wounded. Particularly decimated were Captain Edward Crofton’s Naval Brigade and the 21st Foot, which had both been swept by Capt. Montgomery’s field guns. American losses were 24 killed and 121 wounded, with the 27th Maryland suffering the greatest loss. Of the 3,185 in Stricker’s brigade, the 6th Regiment (761) never fought in the battle, thus only 2,424 of his force were actually engaged.

Vice-Admiral Cochrane, upon hearing the loss of Ross, informed Brooke: “You will best be able to judge what can be attempted – but let me know your destination as soon as possible that I may act accordingly.” Two miles below Fort McHenry, the mast-lights of ships glimmered in the darkness, revealing the Royal Navy’s formidable appearance. The bombardment of the harbor would begin at dawn.


8282

EVENTS

1. 7am: British forces (4,185) land and march towards Baltimore.

2. 1.30pm: Maj. Gen. Ross is mortally wounded in a skirmish with riflemen and infantry.

3. Brig. Gen. Stricker’s battle line consists of the 5th (675) and 27th (720) Regiments with the Baltimore Union Artillery (91) with three

4-pdr field pieces in the center. At 2pm Col. Brooke deploys the 85th Light Regiment (845), 44th Regiment (610), Naval Brigade (235) and 2nd Royal Marines (687), 21st Regiment (884) , 4th Regiment (630) Royal Artillery (473) Royal Sappers and Miners (56) as a one-hour battle musket volleys and artillery ensues between the lines.

4. 3pm: the 4th Regiment advances and begins to flank the American left

5. The second American reserve lines of the 51st (800) and 39th (435) Regiments move forward to unsuccessfully check the advance. With lines fully engaged the American left flank fails with a steady withdrawal to the rear third reserve line

6. The 6th Regiment (761) awaits without engaging. By nightfall the 3rd Brigade falls back to the defenses on Hampstead Hill.

BATTLE OF NORTH POINT, SEPTEMBER 12, 1814The British advance and push Stricker’s 3rd Brigade back to Baltimore.

AMERICAN FORCES

3rd Baltimore Brigade – Brig. Gen. Stricker

1. 27th Regiment

2. 5th Regiment

3. Militia Riflemen

4. Baltimore Union Artillery

5. 39th Regiment

6. 51st Regiment

7. 6th Regiment

3

5

6

BEAR CREEK

BREAD AND CHEESE CREEK

NORTH POINT

ROAD

TRAPPE ROAD

LOG HOUSE

MEETING

HOUSE

STRICKLER

3

X

F

H

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


8383

BRITISH FORCES

1st (Light) Brigade – Col. Arthur Brooke, RA

A 4th Regiment (light companies)

B 85th Regiment

C 21st Regiment (light companies)

D 44th Regiment (light companies)

2nd Brigade – Lt. Col. Thomas Mullins

E 4th Regiment

F 44th Regiment

3rd Brigade – Lt. Col. William Patterson

G 21st Regiment

H 1st Royal Marines

I 2nd Royal Marines

J Naval Brigade – Capt. Edward Crofton

K Artillery detachment, four bronze 9-pdrs, a 5½in. howitzer and the

Royal Rocket Artillery with Congreve rockets

1

2

4

BLACK RIVER

BROOKE

X X

A

B

CD

E

E

G

I

K


84

BOMBARDMENT OF FORT MCHENRY, SEPTEMBER 13–14, 1814

At dawn on September 13, the British Army resumed its march towards Baltimore. Over the next 24 hours there would be several communication blackouts because the British received dispatches via a barge 4 miles down Bear Creek to Cochrane’s flagship, the frigate HMS Surprise. Having secured the battlegrounds the British opened a third and final communications passage to the fleet via Colegate Creek, located a mile southeast below Lazaretto Point.

The most important defense of Baltimore Harbor was the sunken merchant vessels and the mast-booms stretched across the 600ft gap between Fort McHenry and Lazaretto Point. Behind the vessels were 11 US barges, each manned with 24 seamen and a 12-pdr carronade. In all, 400 flotillamen stood ready to defend this vital narrow passage. Sailing Master Beverly Diggs of the US Chesapeake Flotilla stated later in a deposition that “It was evident to all that the obstructing of the Channel was the greatest, if not the only real preservation of the City of Baltimore.”

At 6.30am, 2 miles below Fort McHenry, the British naval arc of 20 warships kept their distance from the fort’s naval batteries as the bombardment began. The Volcano fired the first of its 274 fiery shells. Other bomb vessels and frigates joined in amidst clashes of thunder.

Three hours after the battle began, Vice-Admiral Cochrane knew the Baltimore campaign was lost as the formidable defensive line at the harbor entrance had not been breached. Addressing a letter to Brooke via Rear-Admiral Cockburn at 9.30am, Cochrane related that it “was impossible for the Ships to render you any assistance – the Town [of Baltimore] is so far retired within the Forts… It is for Colonel Brooke to consider under such circumstances whether he has Force sufficient to defeat so large a number… Without this can

Fort McHenry’s Reconstructed

Upper Gun Battery. Like the

lower shore batteries, 30 18-

and 36-pdr French naval guns

were manned by the US Flotilla,

two companies of the 1st

Maryland Artillery and two

companies of US Sea Fencibles.

(Richard Schlecht, National Park

Service)


85

be done it will only be throwing the Men’s lives away and present us from going upon other services.” The British Army advanced to the east of Baltimore, approaching the low ridgelines of Hampstead, Worthington and Gallow’s Hills which hid the city from view.

Upon Hampstead Hil l , Commodore John Rodgers’ mile long naval line extended from Fell’s Point to the Belair Road and was defended by entrenchments and seven artillery redoubts all manned by US Marines (170) and sailors (400) armed with cutlasses, boarding pikes, muskets and 14 12-pdr cannon. Behind these naval lines were an estimated 15,000 cavalry, artillery and infantry militia from Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Between noon and 1.00pm Brooke and Cockburn feinted northward of the lines to try and find a vulnerable point, but their movements were countered by Virginia militia and Captain Burd’s US Light Dragoons. Brooke discovered that the American right flank near the harbor was vulnerable to a night attack and when communications between the Army and the Navy were reopened, Brooke and his troops could attack the American heights. The British planned to launch a diversionary attack to the right to draw the bulk of the militia to that sector of the battlefield. At this point the 85th Regiment and the Naval Brigade, supported by the 4th and 44th Regiments, would attempt to penetrate the militia’s left flank with a bayonet charge. The columns would then wheel upon the summit nearest the harbor, taking the defense works one by one. The assault would begin after midnight on September 14.

The combination of thunderstorms and the bombardment provided a vivid display of early 19th century shock and awe. Baltimore’s Niles’ Weekly Register newspaper stated that “The houses in the city were shaken to their foundations; for never, perhaps from the time of the invention of cannon to the present day, were the same number of pieces fired with so rapid succession.”

At 9.30pm Brooke received a cautionary letter from Vice-Admiral Cochrane stating that, “You are on no account to attack the enemy, unless positively certain of success.” Ever since the battle of North Point things had not gone Brooke’s way. Although he had engaged the militia at North Point, the steep mud-soaked rise of Hampstead Hill was still a mile away. Furthermore the Navy could not render any assistance to the land forces as sunken vessels and shore batteries on both sides of the river blocked their approach. In these circumstances, with Cochrane’s

A fanciful

view of the bombardment

middle foreground. (Library of

Congress)

Fort McHenry, 1819. A bird’s-

eye view of the Star Fort with

the shore batteries and a view

of Fort Covington (upper left)

and Fort Look-out (lower left).

Below the Star Fort one can see

the upper and lower shore

batteries. (Library of Congress)


86

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The Baltimore Harbor defenses


87

warning, Brooke cancelled the assault and made arrangements to return to the transports at North Point. With this decision the battle for Baltimore was over; however, the precarious nature of the British communications meant that this decision did not reach Vice-Admiral Cochrane off Colegate Creek in time to reverse the pre-arranged plan for a diversionary naval sortie. Leading this naval assault was Captain Charles Napier onboard the frigate HMS Euraylus, whose instructions according to earlier plans were to commence firing upon the Western Shore defenses of Fort Covington and Battery Babcock. Napier believed that the Army would then make the assault upon the American lines directly at 2.00am.

At 10.00pm, Napier’s flotilla of 20 barges, HMS Erebus, and HMS Euryalus made their approach with muffled oars. Eleven barges lost their way and approached the Lazaretto to the east. Close to midnight a skyrocket illuminated the night sky – this was the signal for Napier to attack. After three hours, Captain Napier had heard no serious engagement to the east where the Army was supposed to have launched a frontal and flanking attack on Hampstead Hill. Napier had done all that was expected of him and the barges pulled away, returning to the fleet where they were caught in a weathering crossfire from the shore batteries of forts McHenry, Covington, Babcock and Lookout. By 4.30am the American shore batteries ceased firing.

While Captain Napier was engaged on the Ferry Branch, flotilla Lieutenant Solomon Rutter at the Lazaretto Battery reported 300 or 400 men in barges entering Colegate Creek, only a mile behind the battery. Detachments of Maryland and Pennsylvania light infantry (400) under Captain Robert Stockton moved to counter the British force, which was led by Lt. George Urmston who was opening the third and last communications and supply line to Brooke’s army via Colegate Creek. This watery passage entered by the British led to a brief skirmish between Lt. Urmston’s re-supply mission and Capt. Stockton which led to Stockton’s refusal to fully engage due the topography not being in his favor. He soon returned to the main American lines on Hampstead Hill.

By dawn at 5.50am the last vestiges of a thunderstorm swept across the Patapsco, “as the morning dawned, the storm passed away, and the heavens once more assumed the aspect of serenity and peace – whilst the twinkling starts shone bright and clear, and the tranquility of the night was broken only by the firing of the bombs.”

Though the American batteries had stopped firing at 4.30am the British continued the bombardment until 7.30am when flag signals were hoisted to disengage the attack. To the east of Hampstead Hill, having discovered the British Army had departed at

Positions of the American

eye view of the defenses on

Hampstead Hill showing the

third communications route

from the river to the British

Army at Colegate Creek.

(Clements Library, University of

Michigan)


88

first light, Winder pushed forward Maj. Beale Randall’s command of Pennsylvania riflemen along with Capt. James Burd’s US Light Dragoons in an attempt to catch the British rearguard.

At 9.00am, an hour and a half after the last of the shells exploded the bombardment squadron sailed down the Patapsco away from the embattled ramparts of Baltimore. In a departing glance at Fort

McHenry from the frigate HMS Hebrus, Midshipman Robert Barrett noticed that, “as the last vessel spread

her canvas to the wind, the Americans hoisted a most superb and splendid ensign on their battery, and fired at the

same time a gun of defiance.” Private John Dagg of the Virginia militia recalled that, “At the first dawn, every eye was directed towards the Fort, to see whether the American banner still waved there; and when the morning mists had sufficiently dispersed, we were filled with exultation at beholding the stars and stripes still floating in the breeze.” The emergence of the British fleet from the Patapsco River on September 17 and their passage south reassured the population that Baltimore was saved.

SOUTHERN MARYLAND AND NORTHERN VIRGINIA, OCTOBER 1814–FEBRUARY 1815

Following the Baltimore campaign in the autumn of 1814, the British naval squadrons under Cochrane and Cockburn continued their presence until September 17 when Rear-Admiral George Cockburn received orders to prepare for an assault on the southern coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia and to Bermuda to refit, while Cochrane sailed to Halifax to prepare for an expedition against New Orleans in late December.

Captain Robert Barrie was left to continue the blockade with the frigates Menelaus, Madagascar, Regulus, Melpomene, Brune and the bomb vessels Devastation and Terror along with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of Royal

fRaini

ttssrra

MMRob

her casuperb an

RRhher

BELOW LEFT

Sailing Master John Adams

the US Chesapeake Flotilla in

the Patuxent River campaign,

the battle of Bladensburg and

Baltimore where he

commanded the six-gun

Battery Babcock (75 men).

(Harford County Courthouse,

Scott Sheads)

BELOW RIGHT

Brigadier-General William

The

younger brother of President

Madison commanded the 1st

Virginia Regiment established

in camps near Herring Bay

below Annapolis. On October

31, 1814, he led his troops at

the battle of Kirby’s Windmill.


Brigadier-General Thomas

commanded the 1st Brigade,

Maryland Eastern Shore Militia,

at Baltimore. He informed his

wife that

seven generals: Smith, Winder,

Stricker, and Stansbury of

Baltimore, Douglas and

Singleton of Virginia; and your

Portrait Gallery / Scott Sheads)


89

Marines. Captain Barrie’s orders were to land and raid along the northern Virginia tidewaters and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It was at this period that Virginia received her full share of raids and skirmishes since the attacks on Craney Island and Hampton in 1813.

The British made 20 significant raids and skirmishes in southern Maryland and northern Virginia’s eastern tidewater of the rivers Potomac, Rappahannock, Yeocomico-Cone, James, York, Piankatank, Nomini Creek and a score of lesser-known towns of Tappahannock, Chaptico, St. Inigoes, and Urbanna.

In two instances during the war Virginia’s militia were ordered by Virginia Governor James Barbour to be sent across the Potomac. A successful skirmish of three charges led by Capt. James Burd of the US Light Dragoons at Kirby’s Windmill at Herring Bay took place on October 31 some 16 miles below Annapolis. Arriving just in time was the 1st Virginia Brigade (800) and field guns under Brig. Gen. William Madison, whilst the British returned fire and returned to their barges. Earlier, on the 27th, Tracy’s Landing was also raided by 250 Royal Marines and seamen who sought to destroy the supply munitions stored by the US Chesapeake Flotilla as well as the town’s tobacco warehouses.

On February 7, 1815, off James Island near the mouth of the Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Lt. Matthew Phipps, commander of the sloop HMS Dauntless with a crew of Marines and seamen (17) headed toward shore to raid a farm and found their ship encased in pack ice 400 yards offshore. Using a mound of ice the militia approached the trapped ship and for two hours musketry was exchanged until the sloop’s crew and a colored woman named Becca surrendered to the militia under Private Joseph F. Steward of the 48th Maryland Regiment. Today, the site is marked on shore by a captured carronade from the sloop known as the Becca-Phipps Monument.

The last known British skirmish on the Chesapeake occurred on February 14, 1815, at the mouth of the Piankatank River, Va. The commissioned trader schooner Saturn, departing from Baltimore, was captured by the frigate HMS Menelaus near the Virginia Capes and ordered to Tangier Island under British command. She grounded on the shoals of the Wolf Trap off present day Gwynn’s Island, Mathews County, Va., allowing the local militia to bring about one of their field guns “to amuse them, which soon made them surrender.”

Captain John Burd’s US Light

Dragoons under Lt. Col. Jacint

Laval saw action during the

campaign and at Kirby’s

Windmill, 16 miles south of

Annapolis, on October 31, 1814.

(René Chartrand)

A British gunboat c.1797.

A typical gunboat with

carronades used in amphibious

inland attacks. The use of these

waterways enabled the British

to strike and depart before any

substantial militia could be

gathered against them.


Greenwich, London)


90

“They formed a prominent part of the rich price, which was paid for victory and safety… Their brethren in arms will cherish their memory with affectionate care.”

Honorable Robert H. Goldsborough, 1827

AMITY AND ILLUMINATIONS OF PEACE, 1815

On February 13 the US schooner Transit arrived in Annapolis with a copy of the Treaty of Ghent signed by the plenipotentiaries on December 24, 1814. Subsequently, a US State Department agent departed Annapolis to inform Capt. John Claville, commander of the remaining British squadron at Lynnhaven Bay, of the news of the outbreak of peace.

In March the British removed all royal property and left the Chesapeake area. HMS Menelaus, whose crew attacked Caulk’s Field in August 1814, became the last ship of the 138 known British vessels to leave the Chesapeake on April 19, 1815.

With the US ratification of the treaty on February 15, a celebration was held in Annapolis at the State House as artillery fired salutes and luminaries – lanterns in paper bags – lit up windows throughout the capital.

The scale of the Chesapeake campaigns of 1813–15 caused the American Militia Act of 1792 to be enacted upon and renewed in supplemental laws to meet the growing national crises and the numerous defensive battles, raids and skirmishes to a satisfactory degree of accomplishment and post war policy improvement for the struggling nation.

The war on the Chesapeake also kindled an inspiration for a new national song, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” inspired by the sight of the nation’s flag amidst “the rockets red glare, bomb bursting in air” during the bombardment of Fort McHenry. Its author, Maryland lawyer

AFTERMATH

Maryland lawyer Francis Scott

as aide-de-camp at the battle

of Bladensburg, later onboard

the flag-of-truce sloop

President

McHenry and composed a new

national song. (Library of

Congress)


91

Francis Scott Key had been detained on an American flag-of-truce sloop-packet the President, along with US State Department prisoner-of-war exchange agent Col. John S. Skinner 3 miles below the embattled fortress amidst the British fleet.

Having successfully negotiated the release of a physician friend, one Dr. William Beanes taken prisoner earlier at Upper Marlborough, Md., the three Americans witnessed the unfolding drama of “shock and awe” before them.

On the morning of September 14, 1814, the British having been repulsed in their attack the garrison of Fort McHenry raised over the fort at 9am to the tune of “Yankee Doodle” a flag of not unusual early 19th-century dimensions of 42 x 30ft.

While romantics looking for the dramatic would have the flag being hoisted in victory, the real fact is that it was simply raised according to War Department Regulations – fire the 6-pdr morning gun, while the fifes and drums play “Yankee Doodle.”

Very soon after the popularity of the 15-star, 15-stripe national ensign and new song midst its fiery ordeal in time of crises had become a national icon. On March 31, 1931, it became the National Anthem of the United States.

ABOVE

US Corps of Artillery, musician.

On the morning of September

14, 1814, the fifes and drums at

Fort McHenry played Yankee

Doodle as the great garrison

flag was raised over the Star

Fort walls. (Keith Rocco,

National Park Service)

LEFT

Treaty of Ghent, signed on

December 24, 1814. British and

Americans hold olive branches

before the altar as a dove flies

above the figures. (Library of

Congress)


92

The two essential reference guides to the battlefields of the Chesapeake campaign are The War of 1812 in the Chesapeake: A Reference Guide to Historic Sites in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia and A Travel Guide to The War of 1812 in the Chesapeake: Eighteen Tours in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. These new reference-travel volumes, both published by Johns Hopkins University Press, provide for the first time a detailed and accountable primary references of biographical and events that shaped the Chesapeake stories of the middle ground of the War of 1812.

MARYLAND

On the Chesapeake Bay the topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore II (1988) serves as a reminder of her 1812 privateer predecessors that sailed out of the Chesapeake during the war. Along the shores and tributaries of the tidewater region, many landscapes have remained similar to how they were during the

THE BATTLEFIELDS TODAY

Battleground of Caulk’s Field. A

bird’s-eye view looking west

towards the Chesapeake Bay

and Parker Point where the

British landed. (Ralph E.

Eshelman)


93

War of 1812, and thus relatively viable for interpretation. Caulk’s Field, in Kent County, remains one of the best preserved 1812 battlefields in America with its pristine cornfields, tree lines and Isaac Caulk’s 1743 house still stands.

Throughout the Chesapeake many tidewater towns retain a historic ambiance with their churchyards and fields and 18th-century estates, though the region is now being developed as marinas and residential housing appears. The St. Michaels Maritime Museum preserves the history and maritime culture of the bay, as well as the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons Island. The landscape of Benedict on the Patuxent River remains farmland and looks much as it did when the British landed.

The Washington–Baltimore metropolitan region has nearly overwhelmed the landscape of the battle of Bladensburg, though a few historic mansions have survived. Fort McHenry, National Monument and Historic Shrine (National Park Service) remains the quintessential War of 1812 site on the Chesapeake with its new Visitor and Education Center. This masonry-earthen star fort, named after US Secretary of War James McHenry in 1797, was the first of the initial coastal defenses authorized and subsequently served the nation during the various American conflicts in the post war periods; the Mexican War (1846–48) as a training ground; the Civil War (1861–65) as a federal defense post and prisoner of war detention site; the Spanish-American War (1898) as a training site; World War I as a US Army Receiving Hospita;l and World War II as a US Coast Guard Training Center that trained 23,000 US Coast Guardsmen and women. In 1912 the last active garrison left the post and in 1925 it was established as a national park under the US Army. In 1933 it was transferred to the National Park Service and in 1939 designated a national monument and historic shrine commemorating its national significance and birthplace of the national anthem.

VIRGINIA

Like the environs of Baltimore, the landscape sites of the war in the District of Columbia, Hampton, Norfolk and Craney Island are virtually unrecognizable. Fort Norfolk (1808) remains much as it has since the battle of Craney Island. Fort Monroe (1819), though a post-war fortification, was built as a direct result of the War of 1812 and in 2011 was established as a unit of the National Park Service. In time, this will become an important historical site for interpreting the role of Hampton Roads in the War of 1812. The historic seaport of Alexandria on the Potomac also retains much of its historic waterfront and history, although little focus is given to the war.

The National Park Service retraces the movements of the American and British armies with The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail throughout the Chesapeake, providing a visitors’ gateway to the War of 1812 sites.

The Aquila Randall Monument.

Built in October 1817 as a

monument to a private in

Captain Benjamin C. Howard’s

1st Mechanical Volunteers. It is

the oldest martial monument

in Maryland. (Ralph E.

Eshelman)


94

BIBLIOGRAPHY The following published narrative accounts, newspapers and books provide a broader perspective of the Chesapeake campaigns from 1813 to 1815.

Barnes, Gregory Fremont, The Royal Navy, 1793–1815, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2007Barney, Mary, ed., A Biographical Memoir of the Late Commodore Joshua Barney: From

Autobiographical Notes and Journals in Possession of His Family, Gray and Bowen, 1832

Beauchant, Theophilus S., The Naval Gunner Containing a Correct Method of Disparting any Piece of Ordnance …Tables of Rangers…Remarks on Bomb Vessels, Fire Ships..&c., Devonport: London, 1828

Butler, Stuart Lee, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812, Ibernian Publishing Company, Ga., 1982

Cassell, Frank A., Merchant Congressman in the Young Republic: Samuel Smith of Maryland, 1752–1839, Wisconsin University Press: 1971

Chamier, RN, Frederick, The Life of a Sailor, Richard Bentley: London, 1850Cranwell, John P., and Crane, William B., Men of Marque: Baltimore Privateers in the War of

1812, W.W. Norton & Co.: New York, 1940Crawford, Michael J., ed., The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, Volume II,

1814–1815, Naval Historical Center: Washington, 2002Dudley, William, ed., The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, Volume II, 1813,

Naval Historical Center: Washington, 1980Eshelman, Ralph E., Sheads, Scott S., and Hickey, Donald H., The War of 1812 in the

Chesapeake: A Reference Guide to Historic Sites in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010

Eshelman, Ralph E., A Travel Guide to The War of 1812 in the Chesapeake: Eighteen tours in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011

Eshelman, Ralph E., and Kummerow, Burton K., In Full Glory Reflected: Discovering the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake, Maryland Historical Society Press and the Maryland Historical Trust, 2012

Garitee, Jerome R., The Republic’s Private Navy: The American Privateering Business as practiced by Baltimore During the War of 1812, Connecticut: Mystic Seaport, 1977

George, Christopher, Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1812 on the Bay, White Mane Publishing, 2000

Graves, Donald, Sir William Congreve and the Rocket’s Red Glare, Museum Restoration Service: Ontario, 1989

Haythornthwaite, Philip, Nelson’s Navy, Osprey Publishing: Oxford, 1993Hickey, Donald R., and Clark, Connie D., The Rocket’s Red Glare: An Illustrated History of

the War of 1812, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012Lord, Walter, The Dawn’s Early Light, Norton & Co.: New York, 1972Lossing, Benson J., The Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812, Harper & Brothers: New

York, 1868Marine, William M., The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812–1815, Tradition Press:

Baltimore, 1965Napier, Major-General Elers., The Life and Correspondence of Admiral Sir Charles Napier,

from Personal Recollection, Hurst and Blackett, London, 1862Pack, James, The Man Who Burned the White House, Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1987Paullin, Charles O., Commodore John Rodgers: Captain, Commodore, and Senior Officer of

the American Navy, Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, 1967Pitch, Anthony S., The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814, Naval Institute

Press: Annapolis, 1998Sheads, Scott S., The Rockets’ Red Glare: The Maritime Defense of Baltimore in 1814,

Tidewater Press: Centreville, 1886Sheads, Scott S., “Onward to Canada! Captain Stephen Moore and the First Baltimore

Volunteers,” War of 1812 Magazine, Ontario, May 2008Sheads, Scott S., “The Last of the Old Defenders of 1814,” Maryland Historical Magazine, 2012Shomette, Donald L., Flotilla: The Patuxent Naval Campaign in the War of 1812, Johns

Hopkins University Press, 2010


95

INDEX

References to images are in bold. References to plates are in bold followed by caption in brackets.

Admiralty, the 28, 32, 53African-Americans 14, 19–20, 55, 73, 74, 89; and

Washington 28, 65Aisquith, Capt. Edward 77, 78–79 (80)Alexandria 9, 25, 66, 67, 68, 93America see United States of AmericaAmerican Militia Act (1792) 90American Revolution (1775–83) 5, 10, 12, 13, 29,

35, 44amphibious assaults 19, 20, 28, 37, 41, 44, 56; and

Craney Island 42; and Hampton 39, 43Anacostia River 57, 59, 60–61 (62)Annapolis 9, 16, 34, 37, 44, 56, 57, 90; and

fortifications 6, 18, 35, 53, 55Armistead, Maj. George 11, 74Armstrong, John 11, 29, 34, 59, 63Atlantic Ocean 5, 28, 31

Baltimore 6, 7, 8, 18, 28, 56, 64, 74; defense of 10, 11–12, 34; and militia 16, 17, 57, 59, 60–61 (62); and privateers 32

Baltimore, battle of (1814) 23, 29, 35, 84–85, 87–88; map 86

Barbour, Gov. James 39, 89Barney, Cdre Joshua 12, 18, 30, 53, 56, 63, 64Barrett, Robert 56, 88Barrie, Capt. Robert 88–89Bathurst, Henry, Lord 28, 39, 69Beall, Col. William D. 59, 63Beckwith, Brev. Col. Sir Thomas Sydney 14–15, 18,

28, 43, 48, 49; and Craney Island 39, 42Benedict 9, 53, 55, 56, 65, 67, 93Benson, Brig. Gen. Perry 44, 45Bentley, Caleb 65–66Bermuda 19, 28, 32, 39, 55, 88Bladensburg, battle of (1814) 9, 10, 22, 25, 41,

57, 59, 60–61 (62), 63, 93; and Brooke 15; and militia 17, 18, 29, 30, 35, 39; map 58; and Winder 11–12, 33

Boston 32Boyle, Capt. Thomas 18, 31, 32Britain see Great BritainBritish Army 14–15, 18–19, 67–68, 84; 1st Brigade

59, 75; 2nd Brigade 75; 4th Regiment 59, 60–61 (62), 63, 75, 85; 21st Regiment 59, 60–61 (62), 63, 75, 81; 44th Regiment 59, 60–61 (62), 63, 75, 77, 85; 85th Regiment 59, 60–61 (62), 63, 64, 75, 77, 81, 85; 102nd Regiment 39, 41, 43, 44, 48

British Orders in Council 5, 13Brooke, Col. Arthur 15, 60–61 (62), 63, 75, 77, 81;

and Baltimore campaign 84–85, 87Brookeville 66Burch, Capt. Benjamin 63Burd, Capt. James 88, 89Byron, Capt. Richard 33

Calverton 53Canada 5, 8, 17, 29, 39; and Beckwith 14, 18, 28;

invasion of 6, 33Cape Henry Lighthouse 8Carolinas, the 88Cassin, Capt. John 42casualties 41, 42, 45, 48, 81Caulk’s Field, battle of (1814) 9, 22, 25, 69,

70–71 (72), 73–74; and militia 17; and modern battlefield 92, 93

Cecil Furnace foundary 38

Cedar Point, battle of (1814) 21, 24–25, 53Celey Plantation 43Chaptico 89Charleston 31Chesapeake Bay 5, 7, 14, 17, 90, 92–93; and

blockade 8, 28, 29, 31, 35; and defense 53; invasion 55–56; map 4

Chester River 44, 48Chester’s Mills 48Chestertown 73Chewings Point 30Choptank River 89Chrysler’s Field, battle of (1813) 56Cochrane, Vice-Adm. Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis

9, 13, 14, 28, 55, 56, 88; and African-Americans 19–20; and Baltimore campaign 84–85, 87; and Caulk’s Field 69; and North Point 81; and ships 53

Cockburn, Rear-Adm. Sir George 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 28–29, 56, 88; and Baltimore campaign 84, 85; and Craney Island 41, 42; and Hampton 43; and Havre-de-Grace 35, 37, 38, 39; and North Point 76–77, 78–79 (80), 81; and Patuxent River 53, 55; and Queenstown 48; and St. Michaels 49; and Washington 57

Codrington, Rear-Adm. Edward 14Colegate Creek 84, 87Colonial Marines 14, 19, 63, 81Concord Point 37Cone, Lt. Stephen H. 76Congreve, Col. Sir William 19Connecticut 6Craney Island, battle of (1813) 8, 24, 35, 41–42, 89,

93; and Beckwith 15, 18, 28, 39, 43; map 40; and militia 17, 29

Crease, Lt. Henry 70–71 (72), 73, 74Crofton, Capt. Edward 75, 81

Dearborn, Gen. Henry 6Delaware Bay 8, 28, 31District of Columbia 55, 93Dyson, Capt. Samuel T. 67, 68

Easton 16, 44Elizabeth River 39, 41Elk Landing, battle of (1813) 23, 35Elk River 8, 35Elkton 21equipment 16, 17Europe 5, 7, 28, 29, 52

Fairlee Creek 9Faulkner, Maj. James 41, 42Federal Militia Act (1792) 16Federal Republican (newspaper) 7, 8Florida 31Forman, Brig. Gen. Thomas Marsh 88Fort Covington 35, 87Fort Madison 18, 35, 53, 55Fort McHenry 9, 11, 16, 18, 20, 74; battle of (1814)

19, 23, 26, 75, 84–85, 87–88; and militia 35, 53, 55; and National Anthem 91, 93

Fort Monroe 93Fort Nelson 35, 39, 41, 53Fort Niagara 11Fort Norfolk 35, 39, 41, 53, 93Fort Pickering 11Fort Severn 18, 35, 53, 55Fort Washington 9, 19, 35, 53, 55,

67, 68France 5, 10, 12, 31, 43, 56

Fredericktown, battle of (1813) 8, 16, 21, 23, 28, 35, 39

Freeman, Capt. Constant 41French and Indian War (1754–63) 5Frenchtown, battle of (1813) 8, 21, 23, 28, 35

Georgetown 7, 57, 64, 65; battle of (1813) 8, 21, 23, 28, 35, 39

Georgia 9, 88Ghent 29, 53; see also Treaty of GhentGordon, Capt. James Alexander 66, 67, 68, 69Gorsuch, Robert 75–76Gosport Naval Yard 30, 39, 41Great Britain 8, 19, 23–26, 27–29, 52; and trade

restrictions 5, 6, 18, 31, 32–33Great Lakes 5, 29

Halifax 13, 18, 19, 28, 43, 88Hampstead Hill, battle of (1814) 23, 81, 85, 87Hampton, battle of (1813) 8, 28, 29, 35, 43, 89, 93;

and Beckwith 15, 18, 39; map 40Hampton Roads 39, 41, 93Hanson, Alexander C. 7Harpers Ferry 16Harrison, Gen. William H. 29Havre-de-Grace, battle of (1813) 8, 23, 28, 35,

37–39, 53; map 36Heath, Maj. Richard Key 76, 78–79 (80)Hill, Lt. Gen. Rowland 69Howard, Capt. Benjamin C. 76, 78–79 (80)Hughes, Col. Samuel 38Hutchison, Lt. George 37

Ice Mound, battle of (1815) 9Independent Companies of Foreigners 14, 18, 41,

43, 48

Jamaica 13, 28, 53James River 30, 89Jefferson, Thomas 5Jones, William 53

Kent Island, battle of (1813) 8, 35, 44, 48, 49Key, Francis Scott 59, 90, 91Kinsale 8, 9Kirby’s Windmill, battle of (1814) 29, 89

Lacolle Mills, battle of (1814) 56Lake Champlain-Plattsburrgh 53, 56Lambert’s Point 39, 41Lawrence, Lt. John 37, 38, 81Lazaretto Point 84, 87Lee, Henry “Light Horse” 7, 66Leeward Islands 13, 28, 32letters of marque 12, 31, 32, 33Levering, Capt. Aaron R. 76, 78–79 (80)Long Island Sound 28Lynnhaven Bay 8, 33, 39, 41, 42, 90

McCulloh, Dr James H., Jr 81McDonald, Col. William 81Madison, Dolley 65, 66Madison, James 5, 6, 7, 63, 65–66Madison, Gen. William 29, 88, 89Magruder, Cap. Richard 63Maine 9Malcolm, Rear-Adm. Pulteney 14, 53, 56Maryland 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 89, 92–93; defense of 18;

and militia 16, 17, 29, 33, 35, 52–53, 56Mason, Gen. John 65Massachusetts 6


96

Monroe, James 13, 59Montgomery, Capt. John 75, 76, 81Mount Vernon 67Mullins, Lt. Col. Thomas 59Mundy’s Creek 9museums 93Myers, Capt. Joseph 63

Napier, Lt. Col. Charles James 18, 39, 42, 43, 44, 66, 87

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor 7, 13, 28, 52Napoleonic Wars (1803–15) 5, 31National Park Service 93Native Americans 5Nelson 18New England 5, 7New Orleans 5, 8, 88; battle of (1815) 15New York 6, 8, 32Newfoundland 28Niagara 6, 29, 52Nicholson, Joseph Hopper 52Nicholson, Maj. William H. 48Nomini Creek 9, 89Non-Importation Act (1811) 6Norfolk 6, 18, 29, 43, 93North American Station 9, 13, 14, 53North Point, battle of (1814) 9, 22, 25–26, 39, 74–

77, 78–79 (80), 81; and Brooke 15; map 82–83; and militia 17, 33; and Stricker 11

Nova Scotia 32

Ohio 29O’Neill, 2nd Lt. John 37–38, 39

Pakenham, Maj. Gen. Sir Edward 15Parker, Capt. Peter 69, 70–71 (72), 73, 74Patapsco Neck 11Patterson, Lt. Col. William 75Patuxent River 9, 18, 27, 35, 53, 55, 93; map 54Pearce, Lt. Robert 70–71 (72), 73Perry, Capt. Oliver Hazard 56, 67, 69Peter, Capt. George 63Philadelphia 16, 35Phipps, Lt. Matthew 89Piankatank River 89Pig Point 9Pinkney, Gen. William, Sr 39, 60–61 (62), 63–64,

75, 76Piscataway 57Plattsburgh 18, 53, 56Pleasonton, Stephen 64Pollard, Capt. Richard 41Porter, Capt. David 56, 67, 69Potomac River 6, 56, 57, 65, 66–69, 89; and militia

17, 29, 55Prevost, Sir George 28Prince Frederick 53Principio Creek 38privateers 8, 12, 13, 28, 31–33

Queenstown, battle of (1813) 9, 18, 21, 24, 28, 39, 48–49; map 46–47; and militia 17, 35

Ragan, Lt. Col. John 63Raisin, Capt. Philip F. 16–17Randall, Maj. Beale 88Rappahannock River 11, 17, 55, 89Reed, Lt. Col. Philip 70–71 (72), 73, 74Richmond 29Rodgers, Cdre John 11, 53, 56, 67, 68, 81, 85Ross, Maj. Gen. Robert 13, 15, 18–19, 28, 56; and

Bladensburg 57, 64; and North Point 76–77, 78–79 (80), 81

Royal Marine Artillery 42, 43, 44, 48, 53, 63Royal Marines 5, 19, 53, 55, 88–89; 2nd Battalion

44, 63; and Caulk’s Field 70–71 (72), 73, 74;

and Craney Island 41, 42; and Hampton 43; and Havre-de-Grace 37, 38; and North Point 75, 81; and Queenstown 48; and St. Michaels 45, 49

Royal Navy 5, 6, 13–14, 19, 28, 29, 30; and Bladensburg 63; and blockade 7, 8; and defeats 32; and Fort McHenry 85, 87; and Havre-de-Grace 35, 37; and North Point 75, 81; see also Colonial Marines; ships, British

Rutter, Lt. Solomon 87

St. Leonard’s Creek, battles of (1814) 9, 21, 25, 53St. Michaels, battle of (1813) 17, 18, 20, 21–22, 28,

35, 39; first 8, 44–45; second 9, 49, 50–51St. Vincent, battle of (1801) 14Sassafras River 39Schuylkill River 16Scott, Lt. Col. Winfield 63Sewell’s Point 39, 41ships, British 18, 27, 45, 48, 53; Anna Maria,

HMS 66; Barrosa, HMS 41; Belvidera, HMS 33; Brune, HMS 88; Dauntless, HMS 89; Devastation, HMS 66, 88; Dolphin, HMS 37; Erebus, HMS 19, 20, 66, 87; Etna, HMS 66; Euryalus, HMS 66, 87; Fantome, HMS 37, 41; Frolic, HMS 6, 32; Guerriere, HMS 32; Hebrus, HMS 88; Highflyer, HMS 35; Jasseur, HMS 53; Java, HMS 6, 32; Junon, HMS 41; Leopard, HMS 6, 8; Loire, HMS 53; Macedonian, HMS 6, 32; Madagascar, HMS 88; Maidstone, HMS 33, 35; Marlborough, HMS 28, 37; Melpomene, HMS 88; Menelaus, HMS 9, 69, 73, 74, 88, 89, 90; Meteor, HMS 66; Mohawk, HMS 43; Narcissus, HMS 41, 53; Plantagenet, HMS 42; Poictiers, HMS 6; Regulus, HMS 88; Royal Oak, HMS 56, 77; St. Lawrence, HMS 32, 53; San Domingo, HMS 28, 41; Satria, HMS 33; Seahorse, HMS 66; Surprise, HMS 84; Terror, HMS 75, 88; Volcano, HMS 84

ships, US 29, 84; Argo, USS 30; Asp, USS 8, 18; Chasseur, USS 32; Chesapeake, USS 6, 8; Columbia, USS 30, 64; Constellation, USS 18, 28, 33, 39, 41; Constitution, USS 6, 32; Erie, USS 30, 74; Java, USS 30, 74; Lottery, USS 8, 33; Ontario, USS 30, 74; President, USS 90, 91; Pride of Baltimore II, USS 92; Saturn, USS 89; Scorpion, USS 18, 53; Transit, USS 90; United States, USS 6, 32; Vigilant, USS 18, 53; Wasp, USS 6, 32; see also privateers

Skinner, Col. John S. 91slavery 19–20, 73Smith, Brig. Gen. Walter 63Smith, Capt. John 5Smith, Maj. Gen. Samuel 10, 12, 34Southcomb, Capt. 33Spesutie Island 35Stansbury, Brig. Gen. Tobias E. 57, 59, 63“Star-Spangled Banner, The” 90–91Sterrett, Capt. James 75, 76Sterrett, Capt. Joseph 63Stockton, Capt. Robert 87Stoney Creek, battle of (1813) 33Stricker, Brig. Gen. John 10–11, 74–75, 76, 81Susquehanna River 5, 35, 38

Tangier Island 9, 19, 89Tappahannock 9, 30, 89Tarbell, Master Comm. Joseph 39, 41Taylor, Brig. Gen. Robert Barraud 12, 41“Thermopylae Pass” 59, 60–61 (62)Thomas Ennis & Company 16Thornton, Col. William 59, 60–61 (62)Tracy’s Landing, battle of (1814) 17, 89trade restrictions 5, 6, 28Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814) 52Treaty of Ghent (1815) 9, 90, 91

uniforms 16, 17, 59United States of America (USA) 5, 6, 8, 13, 27;

orders of battle 21–23; plans 29–30Upper Marlboro 55, 57Urbanna 9, 17, 30, 89Urmston, Lt. George 87US Army 16–17, 29–30, 41, 52; 1st Baltimore

Hussars 75, 76; 1st Baltimore Sharp Shooters 76, 77, 78–79 (80); 1st Baltimore Volunteers 33; 1st Battalion 60–61, (62); 1st Columbian Brigade 63; 1st Mechanical Volunteers 76, 78–79 (80); 3rd Brigade 74–75; 1st Maryland Regiment 63; 1st Maryland Rifle Battalion 63, 75; 2nd Maryland Regiment 63; 3rd Brigade 11; 4th Regiment 49; 5th Maryland Regiment 63, 65, 81; 6th Maryland Regiment 76, 81; 9th Cavalry Regiment 49; 10th Military District 55; 12th Brigade 44–45; 14th Infantry 8; 17th Maryland Regiment 59, 63; 21st Maryland Regiment 70–71 (72), 73; 26th Regiment 49; 27th Maryland Regiment 76, 81; 36th Infantry 18, 35, 63, 74; 38th Infantry 18, 35, 48, 63, 74; 39th Maryland Regiment 33, 76, 81; 40th Regiment 37; 42nd Regiment 37; 48th Maryland Regiment 89; 51st Maryland Regiment 76, 81; Baltimore Union Artillery 76, 81; Columbian Brigades 55, 57; Independent Blues 76, 78–79 (80); Petersburg Volunteers 33; Talbot Volunteer Artillery 49

US Capitol 64US Chesapeake Flotilla 12, 17–18, 27, 30, 53,

55, 89; and Bladensburg 57, 63–64; and North Point 74

US Congress 9, 18, 19, 35US flag 90–91US Marines 53, 59, 63–64, 85US Navy 6, 17, 30, 34; see also ships, US;

US Chesapeake FlotillaUS War Department 52, 55, 91Usselton, Capt. Aquilla 73

Vickers, Capt. Clement 49Virginia 5, 6, 7, 32, 34, 89, 93; and militia 16, 17,

29–30, 33, 43, 53, 56, 88

War of 1812; 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 31, 93; and militia 16Warren, Adm Sir John Borlase 8, 13, 14, 27, 28, 32,

39; and Hampton 41, 42, 43Washington 28, 29, 55, 56, 57, 59; burning of 15,

30, 63, 64–65weaponry, British 16, 17, 18, 37, 41, 43, 75;

Congreve rockets 19, 20, 42, 48, 60–61 (62), 81weaponry, US 42, 43, 63–64, 73, 74, 75, 85Webster, John Adams 88Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of 14, 15,

18, 69West Indies 14, 28, 53Westphal, Lt. George A. 37, 38Whiskey Rebellion (1791–94) 10White House, the 64, 66Wicke, Capt. Simon 73Wilkinson, Maj. Gen. James 56, 57Williams, Maj. John S. 57Williams, Pvt. William 19, 20Winchester, Pvt. David 65Winder, Gov. Levin 7, 11, 29, 34Winder, Brig. Gen. William Henry 11–12, 33, 55,

56, 57, 59, 64, 88Wood Yard Camp 57

“Yankee Doodle” 91Yeocomico River 8, 9, 30, 89York (Toronto) 29, 33York River 89Yorktown 35


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MAA 226 978 0 85045 197 9 MAA 345 978 1 84176 051 3

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First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Osprey Publishing,PO Box 883, Oxford, OX1 9PL, UKPO Box 3985, New York, NY 10185-3985, USAE-mail: [email protected]

© 2014 Osprey Publishing Ltd

OSPREY PUBLISHING IS PART OF THE OSPREY GROUP.

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978 1 78096 852 0E-book ISBN: 978 1 78096 853 7E-pub ISBN: 978 1 78096 853 7

Editorial by Ilios Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK (www.iliospublishing.com)Index by Zoe RossTypeset in Myriad Pro and SabonMaps by Bounford.com3D bird’s-eye view by The Black SpotBattlescene illustrations by Graham TurnerOriginated by PDQ Media, Bungay, UK

© Osprey Publishing. Access to this book is not digitally restricted. In return, we ask you that you use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. Please don’t upload this ebook to a peer-to-peer site, email it to everyone you know, or resell it. Osprey Publishing reserves all rights to its digital content and no part of these products may be copied, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise (except as permitted here), without the writtenpermission of the publisher. Please support our continuing book publishing programme by using this e-book responsibly.

Every effort has been made by the Publisher to secure permissions to use the images in this publication. If there has been any oversight we would be happy to rectify the situation and written submission should be made to Osprey Publishing.

DEDICATION For my mother Evelyn who continues to provide cheers and inspiration.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the preparation of this volume the author wishes to thank Donald R. Hickey, Ralph E. Eshelman, Rich Apfel, Vince Vaise, Jum Bailey and for introducing me to write this campaign series René Chartrand and Donald E. Graves and certainly not last Marcus Cowper, editor of Osprey, who guided me through the often perilous oceans of organizing the materials. I give special thanks to Genna Joubert for her enduring editing and correcting my scribbles.

ARTIST’S NOTE Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the color plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. The Publishers retain all reproduction copyright whatsoever. All enquiries should be addressed to:

Graham Turner, PO Box 568, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP17 8ZX, UKwww.studio88.co.uk

The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.

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Artillery CavalryInfantry

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THE CHESAPEAKE CAMPAIGNS 1813–15 · 2017. 8. 16. · 5 The Chesapeake, the grandest and safest...

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