|
British in the Bay: The Washington Campaign
Further Reading An Overview of the British Attack on Washington and Baltimore The Americans Prepare to Defend Washington and Baltimore The British Attack Bladensburg and Move Onto Washington The British Sail Up the Potomac The British Attack on Baltimore The American Defense of Baltimore
|
The American Defeat at the Battle of BladensburgWhen a scout arrives on August 24, with the news that the British have entered Bladensburg, President Madison and the cabinet retire to Washington. The battle starts at about noon, as the British begin to stream across the bridge over the Potomac. The American militiamen are amazed that the British troops seem to have taken no notice of the hail of bullets being poured on them.Without the support of the regiment which Monroe has moved back, the forward guns and riflemen are quickly overrun by the British advance. The Baltimore 5th Regiment counter-attacks and holds back the British attack for a while. When the British fire Congreve rockets at the raw American militia, they panic and flee. The American rear line, made up partly with Commodore Joshua Barney’s naval veterans, is still forming up when the panicked militia comes dashing through. The British troops are in close pursuit. Barney and his men hold, but they are soon overwhelmed by the redcoats. It has never occurred to Winder to designate a rallying point in the case of defeat. The commander now gives up hope of defending the capital. He collects whatever retreating militia he can find and marches them off to Montgomery Court House, eighteen miles beyond Washington. The rout at Bladensburg turns into perhaps the most humiliating episode in the entire history of the United States of America. The British troops reach Washington by evening. They burn public buildings and scatter government officials and documents over the surrounding countryside. |
