Southern Maryland's Role in War of 1812-- Part 2

On July 19, 1812, the British occupied St. Clements and St. George islands and landed just north of Point Lookout in St. Mary's County and raided along the shores of the Potomac and Patuxent rivers. They already had a blockade along the Atlantic Coast as well as a major presence in the Chesapeake Bay.

Commodore Joshua Barney, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, was the commander of a privateer ship in 1812. He proposed the construction of a small defensive flotilla in 1813 to harass the Royal Navy and protect American property.

His small fleet skirmished with a small British fleet off Cedar Point on June 1, 1814. His fleet was blocked from the Potomac River so entered the Patuxent River whereupon the British blockaded that river's mouth. The British then pursued Barney's ships into St. Leonard Creek and the fleets exchanged gunfire. Outgunned, the Americans retreated into shallower water where the British couldn't follow.

The British then raided along the Patuxent River's shore to draw Barney out. There was a skirmish at Benedict in Charles County on June 21, 1814, between the English sailors and marines and American militia who drove them back to their ships.

It's Not Over Yet. --Brock-Perry