East

In the autumn of 1812, hundreds of miles of wilderness and recently cleared farmland stood between the East Coast heartland of the United States and the bloodshed of the northern battlefields. But this buffer zone couldn’t protect the coastal communities of the East from the power of the Royal Navy. Raiding parties attacked villages in Chesapeake Bay, while British warships effectively blocked U.S. maritime trade. When the British landed thousands of experienced troops on the shores of Chesapeake Bay in August of 1814, not even the president’s wife was spared the destruction of her home. For the inhabitants of Washington it was a humiliating introduction to the horrors of war. The democratic idealism of the American militia proved no match for the harsh discipline of the British regular army. Although the subsequent defense of Baltimore was hailed as a great American victory, the smoldering ruins of the House of Representatives were a stark reminder of the sack of the young republic’s capital.

REGIONS OF THE WAR | NORTHWEST | CENTRAL | NORTHEAST
EAST | SOUTH | OCEAN

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 American Defeat at the Battle of Bladensburg

Washington Burns

The British Attack on Baltimore

The American Defense of Baltimore