Battle of Bladensburg
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Bladensburg took place during the War of 1812
. The defeat of the American
forces there allowed the British
to capture and burn the public buildings of Washington, D.C.
It has been called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms."
controlled Chesapeake Bay
from early 1813 onwards, lack of troops restricted them to mounting comparatively small-scale raids, the largest of which was the Battle of Craney Island
, which involved 2,000 troops from the British Army
and Royal Marines
.
By April 1814, Napoleon had been defeated and was exiled to the island of Elba
. Large numbers of British troops were free to be sent to North America
. Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost
, the Governor General of Canada
and commander in chief in North America, planned for a dual invasion of the United States. He personally led one invasion into the state of New York
from Canada, headed for Lake Champlain
. Meanwhile, a brigade under Major General Robert Ross
, consisting entirely of veterans from the army of the Duke of Wellington
, was transported to Chesapeake Bay to "effect a diversion on the coasts of the United States of America in favor (sic) of the army employed in the defence of Upper and Lower Canada."
Although Ross commanded the troops, the point of attack was to be decided by Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane
, the commander in chief of the Royal Navy's North American Station. Cochrane concentrated four ships of the line
, twenty frigate
s and sloops of war and twenty transports carrying Ross's troops at Tangier Island. Cochrane's energetic second in command, Rear Admiral George Cockburn
, was in favour of a quick attack on Washington, although Ross was not so eager. His troops had been confined aboard their transports for nearly three months, he lacked cavalry, artillery and transport, and he was wary of the American Chesapeake Bay Flotilla
lurking in the Patuxent River
. The first objective was to capture or destroy the American flotilla, and Ross's orders were to stay near the shipping and not to risk an attack on the American capital.
In Washington, the United States Secretary of War
, John Armstrong
, did not believe the British would attack the strategically unimportant city of Washington. He believed that the likely target would be the militarily more important city of Baltimore. Armstrong was only half right; the British invasion, ultimately, would launch attacks on both Baltimore and Washington.
and some small craft threatened a raid on Baltimore, while two frigates and some bomb ketches and a rocket vessel ascended the Potomac River
, an expedition which resulted in the successful Raid on Alexandria
. His main body proceeded into the Patuxent. Ross's troops landed at Benedict
on 19 August, and began marching upstream the following day, while Cockburn proceeded up the river with ship's boats and small craft. By 21 August, Ross had reached Nottingham, and Commodore Joshua Barney
was forced to destroy the gunboats and other sailing craft of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla the next day, and retreat overland towards Washington.
From Nottingham, Ross continued up the Patuxent to Upper Marlboro
, from where he could threaten to advance on either Washington or Baltimore, confusing the Americans. On the night of 23–24 August, at the urging of Rear Admiral Cockburn and British Army officers under his own command, Ross decided to risk an attack on Washington. He might have taken the capital almost unopposed had he advanced on 23 August, but instead he rested his men and organised his force. He had four infantry battalions, a battalion of Royal Marines
, a company of a Corps of Colonial Marines
locally recruited from black refugees from slavery, a rocket
brigade also from the Royal Marines, 50 Royal Sappers and Miners
, 100 gunners from the Navy and 275 sailors to carry supplies. His force totalled 4,370 men, with one 6-pounder gun, two 3-pounder guns and sixty rocket-launching frames. Rear Admiral Cockburn accompanied his force.
Ross had a choice of two routes by which he could advance: from the south via Woodyard or from the east via Bladensburg
. The former route would involve finding a way across an unfordable part of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac (now called the Anacostia River
) if the Americans destroyed the bridge on the route. In the morning of 24 August, Ross made a feint on the southern route, before suddenly swerving northwards towards Bladensburg.
had designated the area around Washington and Baltimore as the Tenth Military District. Its commander was Brigadier General William H. Winder
, who had practised law in Baltimore before being commissioned as a Colonel in 1812 and who had been recently exchanged
after being captured at the Battle of Stoney Creek
in July 1813. Winder could theoretically call upon 15,000 militia
in total, but he actually had only 120 Dragoons and 300 other Regulars
, and 1,500 poorly trained and equipped militia at his immediate disposal. On 20 August, he ordered his force to advance south to the vicinity of Long Old Fields and Woodyard, off modern Route 5
, to confront the British at Upper Marlboro. There was a brief clash with Ross's leading troops on 22 August, and Winder ordered a hasty retreat to the Long Old Fields.
Though Winder rode with the force directly challenging the British, he realized that Bladensburg was the key to the defense of Washington. Bladensburg commanded the roads to Baltimore and Annapolis
, along which reinforcements were already moving towards the capital. It also lay on one of the only two routes available to the British for an advance on Washington, the preferable route, as it happened, because the Eastern Branch was easily forded there. On 20 August, Winder had ordered Brigadier General Tobias Stansbury to move from Baltimore to Bladensburg and "...take the best position in advance of Bladensburg... and should he be attacked, to resist as long as possible."
On 22 August, Stansbury deployed his force on top of Lowndes Hill, just to the east of Bladensburg. The road from Annapolis ran across the hill, and the road from Upper Marlboro ran to its right and rear. The roads to Washington, Georgetown, and Baltimore intersected behind it. From this position, Stansbury dominated the approaches available to the British while controlling all lines of communication.
At 2:30 a.m. on 23 August, Stansbury received a message from Winder, announcing that he had withdrawn across the Eastern Branch and that he intended to fire the lower bridge. Surprised, Stansbury was seized by an irrational fear that his right flank would be turned. Rather than further strengthen an already commanding position, he immediately decamped and marched his exhausted troops back across Bladensburg bridge, which he did not burn, to a brickyard 1.5 miles (2.4 km) miles further on. In so doing, he had thrown away almost every tactical advantage available to him.
was a "Dandy" regiment of uniformed volunteers.
Stansbury chose a defensible position, but not the best position, on the western side of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac, opposite the town of Bladensburg. The Baltimore artillery were posted in an earthwork which had been hastily constructed by Colonel Decius Wadsworth
(the United States Army's Commissary General of Ordnance) to the north of the bridge. The earthwork was intended for larger weapons, and the field guns had a restricted field of fire through its embrasures. They could not prevent the bridge from being seized with oblique fire. The three Maryland Militia infantry regiments were posted in line to the south of the earthwork, too far away to protect the guns and exposed to British fire. Both Winder and Secretary of State
James Monroe
later tinkered with Stansbury's dispositions. Monroe moved companies and detachments about without correcting the major faults of his position, while Winder moved the three militia regiments into even more exposed positions further behind the artillery, although Monroe reinforced them with a militia artillery company under Captain Benjamin Burch.
Behind Stansbury's troops and to his right were a brigade of militia under Brigadier General Walter Smith of the District of Columbia militia, which had marched up from Long Old Fields to the south. Although Smith's brigade was strongly posted behind a creek, Smith had not conferred with Stansbury before deploying his brigade, so there was a gap of a mile between them, and Smith's men could not support Stansbury. Also, if Stansbury was overcome, Smith's left flank would be open to attack. A battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Kramer lined the creek. Joshua Barney's men, with two 18-pounder guns and three 12-pounder guns drawn from the Washington Navy Yard
, were posted astride the Washington turnpike. To Barney's left was the 1st Regiment of "District" Militia, an artillery company under Major George Peter with six 6-pounder guns and a provisional battalion of regulars under Lieutenant Colonel William Scott. The 2nd District Militia and some companies of Maryland militia were posted behind Peter and Scott.
To Smith's right rear in turn was a column under Colonel William Beall, which had just arrived from Annapolis. A regiment of Virginia Militia under Colonel George Minor was delayed by administrative confusion and arrived on the field only as the battle ended.
Stansbury's troops were tired from two days' constant alarms and redeployments, and Smith's and Beall's men were equally exhausted from having force-marched to the battlefield through a hot and humid summer day, with many diversions and unnecessary panics.
The British advance was led by Colonel William Thornton's
85th Light Infantry
and the three light companies of the other line battalions. Although the Baltimore artillery stopped Thornton's first rush across the bridge, they had solid shot only, which was of little use against scattered skirmishers. Pinckney's riflemen, posted to protect the American guns, were driven back and as Thornton's men closed in, the Baltimore artillerymen retreated with five of their cannon, being forced to spike and abandon another.
The British 1/44th Regiment
had meanwhile forded the East Branch above the bridge. As they prepared to envelop the American left, Winder led a counter-attack against Thornton by Sterrett's 5th Maryland militia, joined by other detachments. As the 5th Maryland exchanged fire with British infantry in cover on three sides, Schutz's and Ragan's drafted militia regiments broke and fled under a barrage of Congreve rocket
s. Winder issued confused orders for three of Captain Burch's guns to fall back rather than cover Sterrett's retreat, and the 5th Maryland and the rest of Stansbury's brigade fled the field.
The British pressed on and were engaged by Smith's brigade and Barney's and Peters's guns. Thornton was badly wounded and his light infantry were driven back with heavy casualties but as the 1/44th threatened Smith's open left flank, Winder ordered Smith to retreat also. Winder's orders to retreat apparently did not reach Barney, and Barney's 400 sailors and Marines were overwhelmed in hand to hand fighting against the British 1/4th and 1/44th Regiments. Barney was badly wounded with a musket ball in the thigh. Beall's troops were also driven from the hill they held, after an ineffectual resistance.
Winder had failed to give any instructions before the battle in the case of a retreat and as the American militia left the battlefield, he issued contradictory orders to halt and reform, or fall back on the Capitol where Secretary of War
John Armstrong, Jr.
hoped vainly to make a stand, using the federal buildings as strongpoints, or retreat through Georgetown
to Tenleytown. Most of the militia simply fled the field with no destination in mind, or deserted the ranks to rejoin their families.
and John S. Williams both give the American casualties as 26 killed and 51 wounded. Joseph A. Whitehorne says that the Americans lost "120 taken prisoner, many of these wounded". Ten cannon were captured by the British.
The hasty and disorganized American retreat led to the battle becoming known as the Bladensburg Races from an 1816 poem. The battle was termed "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms" and "the most humiliating episode in American history." The American militia actually fled through the streets of Washington. President James Madison
and most of the rest of the federal government had been present at the battle, and had nearly been captured. They too fled the capital, and scattered through Maryland and Virginia. That same night the British entered Washington unopposed and set fire to many of the government buildings in what became known as the Burning of Washington
.
Lieutenant General Prevost had urged Vice Admiral Cochrane to avenge the Raid on Port Dover
on the north shore of Lake Erie
earlier in the year, in which the undefended settlement had been set ablaze by American troops. Cochrane had issued a proclamation that American property was forfeit; only the lives of the civilian inhabitants were to be spared. He had issued a private memorandum to his captains however, which allowed them to levy what was effectively protection money in return for sparing buildings. In practice, there was little or no looting or wanton destruction of private property by Ross's troops or Cochrane's sailors during the advance and the occupation of Washington. However, when the British later withdrew to their ships in the Patuxent, discipline was less effective (partly because of fatigue) and there was considerable looting by foraging parties and stragglers and deserters.
After Major General Ross was killed at the Battle of North Point
on 12 September 1814, his descendants were given an augmentation of honour
to their armorial bearings and their family name was changed to the victory title
Ross-of-Bladensburg in memory of Ross' most famous battle.
The lineage of the 5th Maryland Regiment is perpetuated by the present-day 175th Infantry (ARNG MD), one of only nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812
.
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. The defeat of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces there allowed the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
to capture and burn the public buildings of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
It has been called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms."
Background
For the first two years of the War of 1812, the British had been preoccupied with the war against Napoleon Bonaparte on the continent of Europe. Although the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
controlled Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
from early 1813 onwards, lack of troops restricted them to mounting comparatively small-scale raids, the largest of which was the Battle of Craney Island
Battle of Craney Island
The Battle of Craney Island was a victory for the United States during the War of 1812. The battle saved the city of Norfolk, Virginia, from British invasion.-Background:...
, which involved 2,000 troops from the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
.
By April 1814, Napoleon had been defeated and was exiled to the island of Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
. Large numbers of British troops were free to be sent to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost
George Prevost
Sir George Prévost, 1st Baronet was a British soldier and colonial administrator. Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the eldest son of Swiss French Augustine Prévost, he joined the British Army as a youth and became a captain in 1784. Prévost served in the West Indies during the French Revolutionary...
, the Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
and commander in chief in North America, planned for a dual invasion of the United States. He personally led one invasion into the state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from Canada, headed for Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
. Meanwhile, a brigade under Major General Robert Ross
Robert Ross (general)
Robert Ross was an Anglo-Irish British Army officer who participated in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. He is most well known for the Burning of Washington, including the White House.-Early life:...
, consisting entirely of veterans from the army of the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, was transported to Chesapeake Bay to "effect a diversion on the coasts of the United States of America in favor (sic) of the army employed in the defence of Upper and Lower Canada."
Although Ross commanded the troops, the point of attack was to be decided by Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
, the commander in chief of the Royal Navy's North American Station. Cochrane concentrated four ships of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
, twenty frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s and sloops of war and twenty transports carrying Ross's troops at Tangier Island. Cochrane's energetic second in command, Rear Admiral George Cockburn
George Cockburn
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet GCB was a British naval commander of the late 18th through the mid-19th centuries. He held important commands during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 and eventually rose to become Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord.-Naval...
, was in favour of a quick attack on Washington, although Ross was not so eager. His troops had been confined aboard their transports for nearly three months, he lacked cavalry, artillery and transport, and he was wary of the American Chesapeake Bay Flotilla
Chesapeake Bay Flotilla
For two years the United States had been fighting with Great Britain during War of 1812. The British fleet was marauding the Chesapeake Bay when Joshua Barney, a naval officer of the American Revolutionary War, assembled a motley collection of barges and gunboats known generally as the Chesapeake...
lurking in the Patuxent River
Patuxent River
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between...
. The first objective was to capture or destroy the American flotilla, and Ross's orders were to stay near the shipping and not to risk an attack on the American capital.
In Washington, the United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
, John Armstrong
John Armstrong, Jr.
John Armstrong, Jr. was an American soldier and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator from New York, and Secretary of War.-Early life and Revolutionary War:...
, did not believe the British would attack the strategically unimportant city of Washington. He believed that the likely target would be the militarily more important city of Baltimore. Armstrong was only half right; the British invasion, ultimately, would launch attacks on both Baltimore and Washington.
British moves
Cochrane dispatched two forces to make diversions. The frigate HMS MenelausHMS Menelaus (1810)
HMS Menelaus was a Royal Navy 38-gun fifth rate frigate, launched in 1810 at Plymouth.Menelaus entered service in 1810 under the command of Captain Peter Parker, and within weeks of commissioning was involved in the suppression of a mutiny aboard HMS Africaine...
and some small craft threatened a raid on Baltimore, while two frigates and some bomb ketches and a rocket vessel ascended the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, an expedition which resulted in the successful Raid on Alexandria
Raid on Alexandria
The Raid on Alexandria was a British victory during the War of 1812, which gained much plunder at little cost but may have contributed to the later British repulse at Baltimore by imposing delay on their main forces.-Background:...
. His main body proceeded into the Patuxent. Ross's troops landed at Benedict
Benedict, Maryland
Benedict, Maryland is a small unincorporated town in Charles County, Maryland, located on the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland, USA.-History:...
on 19 August, and began marching upstream the following day, while Cockburn proceeded up the river with ship's boats and small craft. By 21 August, Ross had reached Nottingham, and Commodore Joshua Barney
Joshua Barney
Joshua Barney was a commodore in the United States Navy, born in Baltimore, Maryland, who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.-Revolutionary War:...
was forced to destroy the gunboats and other sailing craft of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla the next day, and retreat overland towards Washington.
From Nottingham, Ross continued up the Patuxent to Upper Marlboro
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Upper Marlboro is a town in and the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The live-in population of the town core proper was only 648 at the 2000 census, although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger....
, from where he could threaten to advance on either Washington or Baltimore, confusing the Americans. On the night of 23–24 August, at the urging of Rear Admiral Cockburn and British Army officers under his own command, Ross decided to risk an attack on Washington. He might have taken the capital almost unopposed had he advanced on 23 August, but instead he rested his men and organised his force. He had four infantry battalions, a battalion of Royal Marines
Royal Marines Battalions (Napoleonic Wars)
Three battalions were raised from among the Royal Marines during the Napoleonic Wars; seeing combat in Portugal, Northern Spain, the Netherlands and North America.-The First Battalion:...
, a company of a Corps of Colonial Marines
Corps of Colonial Marines
Corps of Colonial Marines were raised from former slaves as auxiliary units of the Royal Marines for service in the Americas: Two of these units were raised and subsequently disbanded...
locally recruited from black refugees from slavery, a rocket
Congreve rocket
The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...
brigade also from the Royal Marines, 50 Royal Sappers and Miners
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, 100 gunners from the Navy and 275 sailors to carry supplies. His force totalled 4,370 men, with one 6-pounder gun, two 3-pounder guns and sixty rocket-launching frames. Rear Admiral Cockburn accompanied his force.
Ross had a choice of two routes by which he could advance: from the south via Woodyard or from the east via Bladensburg
Bladensburg, Maryland
Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,661 at the 2000 census.Bladensburg is from central Washington, DC...
. The former route would involve finding a way across an unfordable part of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac (now called the Anacostia River
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. It is approximately long...
) if the Americans destroyed the bridge on the route. In the morning of 24 August, Ross made a feint on the southern route, before suddenly swerving northwards towards Bladensburg.
American moves
On 2 July 1814, the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
had designated the area around Washington and Baltimore as the Tenth Military District. Its commander was Brigadier General William H. Winder
William H. Winder
William Henry Winder was an American soldier and a Maryland lawyer. He was a controversial general in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812....
, who had practised law in Baltimore before being commissioned as a Colonel in 1812 and who had been recently exchanged
Prisoner exchange
A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners. These may be prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc...
after being captured at the Battle of Stoney Creek
Battle of Stoney Creek
The Battle of Stoney Creek was fought on 6 June 1813 during the War of 1812 near present day Stoney Creek, Ontario. British units made a night attack on an American encampment...
in July 1813. Winder could theoretically call upon 15,000 militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
in total, but he actually had only 120 Dragoons and 300 other Regulars
Regular Army
The Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
, and 1,500 poorly trained and equipped militia at his immediate disposal. On 20 August, he ordered his force to advance south to the vicinity of Long Old Fields and Woodyard, off modern Route 5
Maryland Route 5
Maryland Route 5 is a long state highway that runs north–south in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from Point Lookout in St. Mary's County north to the Washington, D.C. border in Suitland, Prince George's County....
, to confront the British at Upper Marlboro. There was a brief clash with Ross's leading troops on 22 August, and Winder ordered a hasty retreat to the Long Old Fields.
Though Winder rode with the force directly challenging the British, he realized that Bladensburg was the key to the defense of Washington. Bladensburg commanded the roads to Baltimore and Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, along which reinforcements were already moving towards the capital. It also lay on one of the only two routes available to the British for an advance on Washington, the preferable route, as it happened, because the Eastern Branch was easily forded there. On 20 August, Winder had ordered Brigadier General Tobias Stansbury to move from Baltimore to Bladensburg and "...take the best position in advance of Bladensburg... and should he be attacked, to resist as long as possible."
On 22 August, Stansbury deployed his force on top of Lowndes Hill, just to the east of Bladensburg. The road from Annapolis ran across the hill, and the road from Upper Marlboro ran to its right and rear. The roads to Washington, Georgetown, and Baltimore intersected behind it. From this position, Stansbury dominated the approaches available to the British while controlling all lines of communication.
At 2:30 a.m. on 23 August, Stansbury received a message from Winder, announcing that he had withdrawn across the Eastern Branch and that he intended to fire the lower bridge. Surprised, Stansbury was seized by an irrational fear that his right flank would be turned. Rather than further strengthen an already commanding position, he immediately decamped and marched his exhausted troops back across Bladensburg bridge, which he did not burn, to a brickyard 1.5 miles (2.4 km) miles further on. In so doing, he had thrown away almost every tactical advantage available to him.
American dispositions
Stansbury's force consisted of the 1st (Ragan's), 2nd (Schutz's), and 5th (Sterrett's) regiments of Maryland Militia, three companies of volunteer riflemen commanded by Major Thomas Pinckney and two companies of Baltimore artillery, with six guns. Ragan's and Schutz's regiments were hastily-drafted amalgamations of companies, without uniforms. Sterrett's 5th Maryland Regiment5th Maryland Regiment
The designation "5th Maryland" has been held by several units over the years, not all of which necessarily share the same lineage and honors. The first such unit, the 5th Maryland Regiment was organized on 27 March 1776 composing of eight companies of volunteers from the counties of Queen Anne's,...
was a "Dandy" regiment of uniformed volunteers.
Stansbury chose a defensible position, but not the best position, on the western side of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac, opposite the town of Bladensburg. The Baltimore artillery were posted in an earthwork which had been hastily constructed by Colonel Decius Wadsworth
Decius Wadsworth
Wadsworth's cipher was a cipher invented by Decius Wadsworth, a Colonel in the Ordnance Corps of the United States Army. In 1817, he developed a progressive cipher system based on a 1790 design by Thomas Jefferson, establishing a method that was continuously improved upon and used until the end of...
(the United States Army's Commissary General of Ordnance) to the north of the bridge. The earthwork was intended for larger weapons, and the field guns had a restricted field of fire through its embrasures. They could not prevent the bridge from being seized with oblique fire. The three Maryland Militia infantry regiments were posted in line to the south of the earthwork, too far away to protect the guns and exposed to British fire. Both Winder and Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
later tinkered with Stansbury's dispositions. Monroe moved companies and detachments about without correcting the major faults of his position, while Winder moved the three militia regiments into even more exposed positions further behind the artillery, although Monroe reinforced them with a militia artillery company under Captain Benjamin Burch.
Behind Stansbury's troops and to his right were a brigade of militia under Brigadier General Walter Smith of the District of Columbia militia, which had marched up from Long Old Fields to the south. Although Smith's brigade was strongly posted behind a creek, Smith had not conferred with Stansbury before deploying his brigade, so there was a gap of a mile between them, and Smith's men could not support Stansbury. Also, if Stansbury was overcome, Smith's left flank would be open to attack. A battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Kramer lined the creek. Joshua Barney's men, with two 18-pounder guns and three 12-pounder guns drawn from the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
, were posted astride the Washington turnpike. To Barney's left was the 1st Regiment of "District" Militia, an artillery company under Major George Peter with six 6-pounder guns and a provisional battalion of regulars under Lieutenant Colonel William Scott. The 2nd District Militia and some companies of Maryland militia were posted behind Peter and Scott.
To Smith's right rear in turn was a column under Colonel William Beall, which had just arrived from Annapolis. A regiment of Virginia Militia under Colonel George Minor was delayed by administrative confusion and arrived on the field only as the battle ended.
Stansbury's troops were tired from two days' constant alarms and redeployments, and Smith's and Beall's men were equally exhausted from having force-marched to the battlefield through a hot and humid summer day, with many diversions and unnecessary panics.
Action
Around noon on 24 August, Ross's army reached Bladensburg. Stansbury's tactical errors quickly became apparent. Had he held Lowndes Hill, Stansbury could have made the British approach a costly one (although this would involve fighting with the East Branch at his back, which would not improve his men's morale and might be disastrous in the case of a hasty retreat). Had he held the brick structures of Bladensburg, which were ready-made mini-fortresses, he might have embroiled Ross's troops in bloody street fighting. Because the bridge had not been burned, it had to be defended. Stansbury's infantry and artillery were posted too far from the river's edge to contest a crossing effectively.The British advance was led by Colonel William Thornton's
William Thornton (British Army officer)
Lieutenant General Sir William Thornton KCB was a British Army officer who served as Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.-Military career:...
85th Light Infantry
85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers)
The 85th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 53rd Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.-Service history:...
and the three light companies of the other line battalions. Although the Baltimore artillery stopped Thornton's first rush across the bridge, they had solid shot only, which was of little use against scattered skirmishers. Pinckney's riflemen, posted to protect the American guns, were driven back and as Thornton's men closed in, the Baltimore artillerymen retreated with five of their cannon, being forced to spike and abandon another.
The British 1/44th Regiment
44th Regiment of Foot
The 44th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army. After 1782 the regiment became known as the 44th Regiment of Foot. The lineage of the 44th transferred to the Essex Regiment in 1881...
had meanwhile forded the East Branch above the bridge. As they prepared to envelop the American left, Winder led a counter-attack against Thornton by Sterrett's 5th Maryland militia, joined by other detachments. As the 5th Maryland exchanged fire with British infantry in cover on three sides, Schutz's and Ragan's drafted militia regiments broke and fled under a barrage of Congreve rocket
Congreve rocket
The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...
s. Winder issued confused orders for three of Captain Burch's guns to fall back rather than cover Sterrett's retreat, and the 5th Maryland and the rest of Stansbury's brigade fled the field.
The British pressed on and were engaged by Smith's brigade and Barney's and Peters's guns. Thornton was badly wounded and his light infantry were driven back with heavy casualties but as the 1/44th threatened Smith's open left flank, Winder ordered Smith to retreat also. Winder's orders to retreat apparently did not reach Barney, and Barney's 400 sailors and Marines were overwhelmed in hand to hand fighting against the British 1/4th and 1/44th Regiments. Barney was badly wounded with a musket ball in the thigh. Beall's troops were also driven from the hill they held, after an ineffectual resistance.
Winder had failed to give any instructions before the battle in the case of a retreat and as the American militia left the battlefield, he issued contradictory orders to halt and reform, or fall back on the Capitol where Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
John Armstrong, Jr.
John Armstrong, Jr.
John Armstrong, Jr. was an American soldier and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator from New York, and Secretary of War.-Early life and Revolutionary War:...
hoped vainly to make a stand, using the federal buildings as strongpoints, or retreat through Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
to Tenleytown. Most of the militia simply fled the field with no destination in mind, or deserted the ranks to rejoin their families.
Casualties
Although the British had suffered heavier casualties than the Americans (many inflicted by Barney's guns), they had completely routed the defenders. The British casualties were 64 dead and 185 wounded. Some of the British dead "died without sustaining a scratch. They collapsed from heat exhaustion and the strain of punishing forced marches over the five days since landing at Benedict". Heidler's Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 gives the American loss as "10 or 12 killed, 40 wounded" and "about 100" captured. Henry AdamsHenry Adams
Henry Brooks Adams was an American journalist, historian, academic and novelist. He is best known for his autobiographical book, The Education of Henry Adams. He was a member of the Adams political family.- Early life :He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Charles Francis Adams Sr...
and John S. Williams both give the American casualties as 26 killed and 51 wounded. Joseph A. Whitehorne says that the Americans lost "120 taken prisoner, many of these wounded". Ten cannon were captured by the British.
Aftermath
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
and most of the rest of the federal government had been present at the battle, and had nearly been captured. They too fled the capital, and scattered through Maryland and Virginia. That same night the British entered Washington unopposed and set fire to many of the government buildings in what became known as the Burning of Washington
Burning of Washington
The Burning of Washington was an armed conflict during the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. On August 24, 1814, led by General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following...
.
Lieutenant General Prevost had urged Vice Admiral Cochrane to avenge the Raid on Port Dover
Raid on Port Dover
The Raid on Port Dover was an episode during the Anglo-American War of 1812. American troops crossed Lake Erie to capture or destroy stocks of grain, and to destroy mills which were used to provide flour for British troops stationed on the Niagara Peninsula. They also destroyed private houses and...
on the north shore of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
earlier in the year, in which the undefended settlement had been set ablaze by American troops. Cochrane had issued a proclamation that American property was forfeit; only the lives of the civilian inhabitants were to be spared. He had issued a private memorandum to his captains however, which allowed them to levy what was effectively protection money in return for sparing buildings. In practice, there was little or no looting or wanton destruction of private property by Ross's troops or Cochrane's sailors during the advance and the occupation of Washington. However, when the British later withdrew to their ships in the Patuxent, discipline was less effective (partly because of fatigue) and there was considerable looting by foraging parties and stragglers and deserters.
After Major General Ross was killed at the Battle of North Point
Battle of North Point
The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although tactically a British victory, the battle delayed the British advance against Baltimore, buying valuable time for the defense of...
on 12 September 1814, his descendants were given an augmentation of honour
Augmentation of Honour
In heraldry, an augmentation is a modification or addition to a coat of arms, typically given by a monarch as either a mere mark of favour, or a reward or recognition for some meritorious act...
to their armorial bearings and their family name was changed to the victory title
Victory title
A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. This practice was first used by Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it has also been adopted as a practice by many modern empires,...
Ross-of-Bladensburg in memory of Ross' most famous battle.
The lineage of the 5th Maryland Regiment is perpetuated by the present-day 175th Infantry (ARNG MD), one of only nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812
Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812
Nineteen current units of the Army National Guard perpetuate the lineages of militia units mustered into federal service during the War of 1812. Militia units from nine states that were part of the Union by the end of the War of 1812 , plus the District of Columbia, are the predecessors...
.
British
- Foot (Infantry)
- 1st Battalion, 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot
- 21st Regiment (Royal North British Fusiliers)
- 1st Battalion, 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot44th Regiment of FootThe 44th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army. After 1782 the regiment became known as the 44th Regiment of Foot. The lineage of the 44th transferred to the Essex Regiment in 1881...
- 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers)(Light Infantry)85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers)The 85th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment. During the Childers Reforms it was united with the 53rd Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.-Service history:...
- 1350 Royal Marines
- 2nd BattalionRoyal Marines Battalions (Napoleonic Wars)Three battalions were raised from among the Royal Marines during the Napoleonic Wars; seeing combat in Portugal, Northern Spain, the Netherlands and North America.-The First Battalion:...
, commanded by Major James Malcolm (Royal Marines officer)James Malcolm (Royal Marines officer)Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Malcolm, KCB, was a Scottish officer of the British Royal Marines who served in the American Revolutionary War, in the Napoleonic Wars, and with noteworthy distinction in the Americas during the War of 1812... - Companies of Colonial MarinesCorps of Colonial MarinesCorps of Colonial Marines were raised from former slaves as auxiliary units of the Royal Marines for service in the Americas: Two of these units were raised and subsequently disbanded...
from 3rd Battalion, commanded by Major LewisGeorge Lewis (Royal Marines officer)George Lewis, later remembered as Lieutenant General George Lewis CB, late Colonel Commandant of the Royal Marines Portsmouth Division, was a career officer in the Royal Marines, active during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.... - composite battalion (formed from ship-based Marines) commanded by Captain John Robyns (Royal Marines officer)
- 2nd Battalion
American
Not listed in order of battle:- Regiment of Light Dragoons - 2 troops
- Maryland MilitaMaryland Army National GuardThe Maryland Army National Guard is the Army component of the organized militia of the State of Maryland. It is headquartered at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore and has units at armories and other facilities across the state....
- Ragan's 1st Regiment
- Schutz's 2nd Regiment
- Sterrett's 5th Regiment5th Maryland RegimentThe designation "5th Maryland" has been held by several units over the years, not all of which necessarily share the same lineage and honors. The first such unit, the 5th Maryland Regiment was organized on 27 March 1776 composing of eight companies of volunteers from the counties of Queen Anne's,...
- Pickney's volunteer riflemen
- Artillery units - Myer and Magruder
- 1st and 2nd Columbian Brigades
- Annapolis Militia
- District Cavalry
- Colonel Scott's Regular Detachment
- United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
- Chesapeake Bay FlotillaChesapeake Bay FlotillaFor two years the United States had been fighting with Great Britain during War of 1812. The British fleet was marauding the Chesapeake Bay when Joshua Barney, a naval officer of the American Revolutionary War, assembled a motley collection of barges and gunboats known generally as the Chesapeake...
External links
- University of Maryland Special Collections Guide on the War of 1812
- Battle of Bladensburg, War of 1812 Bicentennial preparations top Port Towns' priorities
- "The Short History of Defense of Maryland During the War of 1812," by John Miller
- War of 1812 British Regiments
- The Royal Marines during the War of 1812