Samuel Smith of Baltimore-- Part 4: Victory At Hampstead Hill and Fort McHenry

The British, led by Major General Robert Ross until his death landed on North Point by Baltimore on September 12, 1814,  with 4,000 soldiers and encountered a delaying force led by Brigadier General John Stricker.

The delaying tactic worked and Smith was able to fortify Hampstead Hill, a fortified position  east of Baltimore.  He congregated thousands of militia men and whatever guns he had.  British attempts to flank the position were foiled by Smith.  He also positioned his troops so that a frontal assault would get caught in a crossfire.

The British retreated September 14 and boarded their ships.

The British also assaulted Baltimore with their Navy warships but Fort McHenry and its covering forts (Covington and Babcock) successfully withstood the famous bombardment. and they also withdrew.

--Brock-Perry

Major Armistead's Report on Fort McHenry-- Part 4: The Navy's Aid in the Battle

"In justice to Lieut. Newcomb of the U.S. Navy, who commanded at Fort Covington with a Detachment of Sailors, and Lieut. Webster of the Flotilla, who commanded the six Gun Battery near the Fort, I ought to State that during this time they kept up an animated and I believe a very destructive fire, to which I am persuaded We are much indebted in repulsing the Enemy.

"One of our sunken Barges has since been found with two dead Men in it, others have been found floating in the River.  The only means We had of directing our Guns was by the blaze of their Rocketts, and the flashes f their Guns, had they ventured to the same situation in the day time, not a man would have escaped."

I'd say he was referring to dead British soldiers on the barges and floating in the river.

--Brock-Perry

Major Armistead's Report on Battle of Fort McHenry-- Part 3: A British Landing

"The Enemy continued throwing Shells with one or two Slight intermissions, till One OClock in the Morning of Wednesday, when it was discovered that He had availed himself of the darkness of the Night and had thrown a considerable force above to our right, they had approached very near to Fort Covington, when they began to throw  Rocketts, intended, I presume, to give them an opportunity of examining the Shores, as I have since understood, they had detached 1250 picked Men with Scaling ladders for the purpose of Storming  this Fort.

"We once more had an opportunity of opening our Batteries, and Kept up a continued blaze for nearly two Hours, which had the effect again to drive them off."

--Brock-Perry

Fort Covington, Baltimore

From WikiFort.

Constructed 1813-1816.  Established 1813.  Named after Leonard W. Covington.  Abandoned 1834.  Also known as Fort Patapsco or Fort Wadsworth (named after Col. Decius Wadsworth, Chief of U.S. Ordnance Department).

Fort Covington was a pie-slice-shaped, semi-circular fortress constructed 1.5 miles due west of Fort McHenry defending Baltimore, Maryland.  It was designed by Captain Samuel Babcock, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

It had a surrounding ten-foot high brick wall and 16 foot deep ditch in front of a parapet designed to mount ten to twelve 18-pdr. guns.  There was a barracks and magazine inside it.

At the 1814 Battle of Baltimore it had seven 18-pdrs. mounted en-barbette and was manned by a naval company.  On the evening 13 September 1814, Fort Covington and nearby Fort Babcock and Fort Look-Out repulsed the British fleet.

Nothing remains of the fort.

--Brock-Perry