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Your Pastport to The War of 1812
in Prince GeorGe’s counTy, Maryland
c
c
The War of 1812 was fought between
the United States and Great Britain from 1812 until
1815. The war had several causes. During the late 1700s
and the early 1800s, Great Britain was at war with
France and began to face a shortage of skilled sailors.
To acquire more men for its navy, Great Britain began
to stop American and other ships and impress (take by
force) sailors from them. England also tried to prevent
the United States from trading with the French.
Additionally, British soldiers continued to occupy
territory belonging to the United States, despite Great
Britain’s promise to remove these soldiers in the Treaty
of Paris (1783) at the end of the American Revolution.
Most of the soldiers were located along the Great
Lakes, providing Indians, including the Shawnee leader
Tecumseh, with support in their struggle against
American settlers. A new generation of congressmen,
called War Hawks, wanted war and an excuse to invade
and expand into the British province of Canada. In
1812, President James Madison asked the United States
Congress to declare war.
Sign your Pastport to the War of 1812 here
_________________________________________________________________________________
To learn more about the War of 1812 sites and communities in this Pastport, please contact M-NCPPC at 301-627-2270 or visit www.pgparks.com.
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AquAsco
Maryland Route 381 and Maryland Route 233
Aquasco, Maryland
In the third year of the War of 1812, on August 19,
1814, approximately 5,400 British soldiers, mostly
infantrymen and Marines, under the command of Major
General Robert Ross, left their ships near Benedict in
Charles County and began their march north toward
Washington. Their immediate objective had been to
capture Commodore Joshua Barney’s American flotilla,
trapped further up the Patuxent River, but the thought
of the capture of the new capital city, and the devastat-
ing effect this would have on the Americans, proved too
hard to resist. After a night in Benedict, they began their
march toward Washington only to discover their men
who had been at sea for four months were exhausted
and suffering from the heat. They traveled only six
miles before camping in Patuxent City, also in Charles
County. The next day they began
their slow march across Prince
George’s County, encountering
virtually no resistance. At the
same time, British Admiral Sir
George Cockburn (left) sailed
the remainder of the fleet up
the Patuxent River, camping
at Aquasco on the night of
August 20, 1814.
NottiNghAm
Town of Nottingham
End of Nottingham Road on the Patuxent River
Nottingham was established by the Maryland General
Assembly in 1706. It was designated as a tobacco
inspection site and, by the early 19th century, was a
thriving commercial center.
In 1814, Nottingham was in its heyday with a popula-
tion of approximately 1,200 citizens. Joshua Barney had
used the town as a base of operations for his flotilla for
a brief period.
On the night of August 21, 1814, British soldiers, under
the command of Major General Robert Ross, camped at
Nottingham. They left a rear guard as they resumed
their march to Washington, D.C.
st. thomAs church
14300 St. Thomas Church Road
Croom, Maryland
During the War of 1812, as the British were marching
to Washington, they passed St. Thomas Church. Here
they conducted a feint, first turning west toward
Bellefields and the Woodyard, then doubling back and
heading to Upper Marlboro. St. Thomas Church is
mentioned by American General William H. Winder
several times in his correspondence, including once as a
place to meet Lt. Col. Frisby Tilghman with the cavalry.
Several British soldiers, who died from heat stroke on
their march to Washington, are buried in the cemetery
of St. Thomas Church.
towN of Pig PoiNt On the Patuxent
In April 1814, Joshua Barney, a naval hero
of the Revolutionary War, assembled a
flotilla of barges and gunboats known
generally as the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla
to stall the British attacks on the Patuxent
River.
After a series of valiant battles up and down the River,
the flotilla was pushed up the Patuxent by the British
and trapped. A plan was hatched to transport the entire
flotilla overland from Queen Anne to the South River.
Concerned that the flotilla would fall into British hands,
Secretary of the Navy William Jones ordered Barney to
scuttle the vessels should the British appear. On August
22, 1814, Barney ordered it’s destruction and he and his
men marched, with the cannons that were movable, to
Washington, D.C. where they were to join the Battle
of Bladensburg.
Burning of Havre de Grace, Maryland, Maryland Historical Society. Joshua Barney, top right.
mouNt cAlvert
16302 Mount Calvert Road
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
An English colonial town was established at Mount
Calvert in 1684 and when Prince George’s County was
organized in 1696, it became the county seat and was
renamed Charles Town. The house at Mount Calvert
was built around 1780 after the county seat was moved
in 1721.
In August 1814, Mount Calvert was the location where
British Rear Admiral George Cockburn disembarked
his seamen to join the Marines on their march to
Washington, D.C. This followed the fiery destruction of
the Chesapeake Flotilla by Commander Joshua Barney
at Pig Point (now called Bristol Landing). After British
forces moved on, Mount Calvert served as a U.S. Navy
marshaling area for materials salvaged from the scuttled
flotilla.
Bellefields
Private Residence, Croom, Maryland
Bellefields is an early example
of a Maryland Georgian
country house. It was built
around 1720 by Dr. Patrick Sim.
On August 22, 1814, from a
vantage point at Bellefields,
Brigadier General William
Winder and Secretary of State
James Monroe watched the British forces under
Major General Robert Ross march towards the town
of Upper Marlboro where the British planned to camp
for the night.
uPPer mArlBoro
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
When the British entered Upper Marlboro, they found
it almost deserted. Major General Robert Ross and
Admiral George Cockburn headquartered at the house
of Dr. William Beanes (near present day Elm Street) from
August 22 until the afternoon of August 23, 1814. There
was no resistance by local citizens even though British
troops commandeered food and supplies.
forestville
Forestville, Maryland
On the night of August 23, 1814, American troops
camped at Long Old Fields (now called Forestville). It
was near Long Old Fields that
American forces fired two or
three rounds of artillery at the
approaching enemy before
withdrawing. This was the first
artillery fired at the British in
five days.
the woodyArd
Woodyard Circle, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
The Woodyard Plantation served as the temporary
headquarters of the American troops during the British
invasion in 1814.
The American forces, which had gathered from Wash-
ington, Annapolis, and Baltimore, marched to join their
commander, Brigadier General William Winder, at the
Woodyard. At this time, it was the home of Richard W.
West, Francis Scott Key’s brother-in-law. Winder’s forces
were soon joined here by 500 or so of Commodore
Barney’s seamen and Secretary of State Monroe. The
Americans camped here on the night of August 23, 1814.
melwood PArk
Privately Owned, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Melwood Park was origi-
nally built by Ignatius Digges
around 1750, and raised to
its present two stories by his
widow, Mary Carroll Digges,
in about 1800.
During the War of 1812, the British forces marching to
Washington, D.C. camped near Melwood on the night
of August 23, 1814. Reportedly, several British officers,
including Major General Robert Ross, invited them-
selves for dinner with the widow, Mary Carroll Digges.
American scout Thomas McKenny observed that Major
General Ross and Rear Admiral Cockburn slept or rested
in a shed on the Digges estate after dinner.
ANdrews Air force BAse
After camping at Upper Marlboro, the British forces left
about noon on August 23, 1814 and camped that night
on what is now part of Andrews Air Force Base. They
were only a few miles from the American troops camp-
ing at the Woodyard and about the same distance from
the American troops at Forestville.
the BAttle of BlAdeNsBurg Bladensburg, Maryland
The Battle of Bladensburg took place on August 24,
1814 and has been called “the greatest disgrace ever
dealt to American arms.” Because of the American
defeat, the British were able to capture and burn the
public buildings of Washington, D.C.
On August 24, the British broke camp at Melwood Park,
and marched to Bladensburg where they knew they
could ford the Anacostia River into Washington.
Marching in intense heat, they arrived in Bladensburg
about noon. General Winder’s men had since arrived
along with other brigades from Annapolis. In all, the
Americans totaled about 6,000 men. General Ross
headed straight for the bridge over the Anacostia (which
had not yet been destroyed). When the British entered
Bladensburg and marched down Lowndes Hill, the
American riflemen fired, but Ross’ infantry continued
toward the bridge.
The inexperienced Americans were no match for the
British Army and their terrorizing Congreve rockets and
after initially pushing the British back, they scattered, all
except Commodore Barney and his Marines and sailors.
The Commodore and his seamen made a heroic stand
against overwhelming odds.
The hasty and disorganized American retreat led to
the battle becoming known as the Bladensburg Races.
The battle was termed “the most humiliating episode
in American history.” The American militia actually
fled through the streets of Washington. President James
Madison and others in the federal government were pres-
ent at the battle and were nearly captured. They fled the
capital, and scattered through Maryland and Virginia.
After Major General Ross
was killed at the Battle of
North Point on September
12, 1814, his descendants
were given an augmenta-
tion of honour victory title
of Ross-of-Bladensburg
in memory of Ross’ most
famous victory.
Top left: British capture and burn the White House, 1814.
Right: Map of the campaign and battlefield of Bladensburg, from Benson J. Lossing’s “Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812” (1868)
Bostwick
3901 48th Street, Bladensburg, Maryland
Bostwick was built in 1746 for Christopher Lowndes,
a Bladensburg merchant and Town Commissioner, and
was later the home of Lowndes’ son-in-law, Benjamin
Stoddert, first Secretary
of the Navy. Probably the
earliest surviving building in
Bladensburg, Bostwick stands
high on a terraced lawn, and
is a prominent landmark in
the town.
the mArket mAster’s house
4006 48th Street, Bladensburg, Maryland
Built by Christopher Lowndes of Bostwick around 1765
on a lot overlooking the adjoining market space, the
Market Master’s House is a unique example of a stone
building in the area. It is
one of four surviving pre-
Revolutionary buildings
in Bladensburg.
george wAshiNgtoN house
4302 Baltimore Avenue, Bladensburg, Maryland
This old building, dating back to 1732, was once an
inn along a major north-south route in the town of
Bladensburg, Maryland. It
was reported to be a stopover
for George Washington when
travelling between his Mount
Vernon home and Philadelphia
or New York.
the mAgruder house
4703 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg, Maryland
Built for William Hilleary and visited by George
Washington in 1787, the Magruder House is one of
four surviving pre-Revolutionary buildings in
Bladensburg. It has been
owned or rented by a series
of five doctors, including
Dr. Archibald Magruder.
Photo: Jennifer K. Cosham
fort liNcolN cemetery
3401 Bladensburg Road, Brentwood, Maryland
During the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814,
American Commodore Joshua Barney, accompanied by
his 500 flotilla men and Captain Samuel Miller and his
120 U.S. Marines, made a heroic defense of the national
capital—fighting against the enemy hand-to-hand with
cutlasses and pikes—near the entrance to present day
Fort Lincoln Cemetery. The battle raged for four hours
but eventually the British defeated the greatly out-
numbered Americans. The defenders were forced to fall
back and the British went on to burn the Capitol and
White House. Barney, severely wounded with a bullet
in his thigh that could never be
removed, was unable to retreat
and was captured.
General Ross, who had lost
nearly 300 men before getting
across the river, gave great
attention to the wounded
Commodore; he so admired the
bravery of the “blue-jackets”
that he paroled all the flotilla
men, including the Commodore,
on the spot.
The historic marker for the Battle
of Bladensburg can be found
behind the mausoleum of this
cemetery.
BlAdeNsBurg dueliNg grouNds
Bladensburg Road and 40th Avenue
Colmar Manor, Maryland
Nearly 50 duels were fought at the Bladensburg Dueling
Grounds between 1808 and 1871. Located just beyond
the District of Columbia line, it was a convenient place
for the gentlemen of Washington to
settle their quarrels, beyond the reach
of federal law.
Captain Barron, in command of the
USS Chesapeake, surrendered his ship
in a violent confrontation with the
British in 1807. The Chesapeake affair was considered
a disgrace to the US Navy and almost lead to war with
Great Britain. Barron was court-martialled and suspended
from the Navy for five years. He spent the War of 1812
in Denmark. When he tried to rejoin the Navy in 1818,
Stephen Decatur, the nation’s greatest naval hero of the
War of 1812, opposed Barron’s reappointment. Barron
insulted Stephen Decatur and matters escalated
until a duel was challenged. The two men
met at the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds
on March 22, 1820 where both men
were tragically shot. Decatur was shot in
the abdomen and died the next day. He
was 41 years old. Captain Barron was
reinstated in the Navy and died in 1851.
Stephen Decatur by Orlando S. Lagman. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C.
AddisoN chAPel
5610 Addison Road, Seat Pleasant, Maryland
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, also known as Addison
Chapel, was built about 1809 replacing two previous
chapels. Addison Chapel was first established in 1696
as a chapel of ease for St. John’s at Broad Creek. It was
named for Colonel John Addison of Oxon Hill Planta-
tion, a leading proponent of the Anglican Church.
St. Matthew’s is situated in a large graveyard containing
some early stones, the most notable being that of
Benjamin Stoddert, the first Secretary of the Navy.
On August 24, 1814, Addison Chapel was used as
temporary British headquarters before the Battle of
Bladensburg.
riversdAle
4811 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, Maryland
Riversdale was the home of George and
Rosalie Calvert. The Battle of Bladensburg
on August 24, 1814 directly affected the
Calverts as Rosalie described in a letter
to her sister soon after the Battle.
“My Dear Sister, 30 August 1814
…Since I started this letter we have been in
a state of continual alarm…I am sure that you
have heard the news of the Battle of Bladensburg where
the English defeated the American troops with Madison
“not at their head, but at their rear.” From there they
went to Washington where they burned the Capitol, the
President’s House, all the public offices…During the
battle, I saw several cannonballs with my own eyes...
At the moment the English ships are at Alexandria
which is also in their possession….”
After the battle, George
Calvert, with the help
of field hands from
Riversdale, went to the
battleground to bury
the dead and assist the
wounded.
dr. BeANes’ grAve
Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
In the summer of 1814 as the British marched back
through Upper Marlboro after burning parts of Washing-
ton, several British deserters were captured and taken to
the county jail. British Major General Ross was furious
and arrested Dr. Beanes and took him back to their ship.
Friends of Beanes went to Francis Scott Key, a lawyer
in Georgetown, for help with the release of the elderly
doctor. Key, and John Stuart Skinner, the U.S. Prisoner
Exchange Agent, went to secure Beanes release and were
held eight miles off shore from Fort McHenry until after
the outcome of the Battle of Baltimore. Skinner, Key and
Beanes had learned too much about British forces and
plans of the attack on Baltimore to allow them free at
that time. The battle started the morning of September
13, 1814 and the three men watched from their ship as
the bombardment continued into
the night. When morning came
on September 14, they saw that
the American flag was still there.
Key was inspired to write a poem
of the event on the back of a let-
ter, which ultimately became the
Star Spangled Banner.
“By Dawn’s Early Light” 1912 painting by Edward Moran depicts the morning of September 14, 1814. Francis Scott Key with Colonel John Skinner and Dr. William Beanes.
dArNAll’s chANce
14800 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
The British took Dr. William Beanes and two others
hostage, and Major General Ross threatened to burn the
town if his British soldiers were not released. John
Hodges, who lived at Darnall’s Chance between 1799
and 1825, was compelled upon by his neighbors to go to
the Queen Anne jail and seek the release of the soldiers.
John and his brother Benjamin agreed and went to the
jail to plead the town’s case to General Robert Bowie.
General Bowie agreed to release the British and permitted
the Hodges brothers to negotiate the prisoner exchange.
John Hodges, for his part in the return of the soldiers,
was indicted for treason. At his trial in 1815, he was
defended by the illustrious lawyer William Pinkney.
He was found not guilty by the jury, who in a decision
which is still cited, considered that the “circumstances
under which he acted formed a good and sufficient
excuse.”
oxoN hill fArm
Government Farm Road, Oxon Hill, Maryland
During the War of 1812, Oxon Hill Farm, then called
Mount Welby, was the home of Dr. Samuel and Mary
DeButts and their family. Their farm was perilously
close to the scene of battle as Mary DeButts described
to her brother in a letter dated March of 1815; “The
termination of the War has cheered Hearts of thousands
but its bitter consequences will be long severely felt. I
cannot express to you the distress it has occasioned; at
the Battle of Bladensburg we heard every fire (that place
being not more than 5 or 6 miles
from us). Our House was shook
repeatedly by the firing upon forts
and bridges, and illuminated by
the fires in our Capital.”
According to Dr. Samuel DeButts,
Admiral Sir George Cockburn’s
British fleet “lay directly before
our House.” Indeed, the siting
of Mount Welby would have
afforded its residents a clear view
of the city of Alexandria, located
directly across the Potomac River.
Though the war had come terrifyingly close to harm-
ing the DeButts family, they emerged from the conflict
unharmed. However, “a most dreadful epidemic” swept
through the region during the winter of 1815 killing
Dr. DeButts.
fort wAshiNgtoN
End of Fort Washington Road, Oxon Hill, Maryland
The site of Fort Washington was originally selected by
George Washington in 1794 as the location for a fort
to protect the new capital city. It was not actually
constructed, however, until 1809 when relations with
Great Britain continued to deteriorate.
During the War of 1812, in August 1814, with
British forces in Washington (having marched overland)
and British ships heading up the Potomac, the fort
was destroyed by its own garrison to prevent it from
being captured and occupied by the British.
Stop by and visit The BaTTle of BladensBurG
VisiTor’s cenTer
and The War of 1812 in Prince George’s county, Maryland
Opening August 24, 2012
4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg MD
301-779-0371
cc
O! say can you see by the dawn’s
early light, What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming…
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning CommissionDepartment of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County
www.pgparks.com
PPC/PR/NHRD/2012
