Early September 1814 Located along the Patapsco River at the top of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland Baltimore waited With its bustling harbor and famous shipyards America’s third-largest city of fifty thousand inhabitants was a juicy target for the mighty armada of more than fifty British navy ships sailing toward it Earlier that year an English newspaper had called Baltimore a nest of pirates Another paper had written There is not a spot in the whole United States where an infliction infliction of Britain’s vengeance revenge will be more entitled to our applause than Baltimore In August the British military had stormed into America’s young capital city Washington D C forty miles southwest of Baltimore They seized an opportunity to demonstrate their power by burning important government buildings in the weakly guarded city The American troops mostly inexperienced militia called up at the last minute embarrassed themselves with a half hearted attempt to stop them Their fearful run from the enemy was dubbed the Bladensburg Races referring to the town outside Washington where the encounter occurred The British set fire to the Capitol the navy yard and the president’s White House Only the exterior walls of the dwelling survived along with a famous portrait of President George Washington which 1 B BB B BB B B BB B B BB B B BB B B BB B B BB B B BB B B BB B B BB B B BB
STAR-SPANGLED The British set the White House on fire during their invasion of Washington D C August 24 1814 This image is from a book published in 1816 had been hauled to safety James Madison the fourth president and his wife Dolley had fled earlier in the day From their rooftops the citizens of Baltimore stared in horror at the fiery glow on the horizon The British military was a seemingly seemingly unstoppable force The inhabitants of Baltimore knew they were in the bull’s-eye next They had mixed feelings They also had strong feelings One of Baltimore’s nicknames was Mobtown Throughout history the citizens of Baltimore had never needed much excuse to form an angry mob and riot In 1812 Baltimore was home to a large population of French Irish and German immigrants who did not like the British They thought anyone who supported Britain was disloyal to the United States When President Madison declared war against Britain in June that year a Baltimore newspaper publisher 2
A Sitting Duck V This engraving appeared in a British publication the Stationer’s Almanack in 1815 While its title says it depicts the British capture of Washington D C the British only attacked the city and burned some of the main public buildings publisger named Alexander Hanson printed articles opposing the war and praising Britain This of course did not sit well with many people in Baltimore An angry mob armed with hooks axes and other weapons destroyed Hanson’s offices and printing press and beat him and his supporters Sadly the first few deaths of the war occurred not on a battlefield but on the streets of Baltimore When the United States declared war the British military was already occupied with a long war against France and their primary focus was on Europe That left Britain’s Canadian territory poorly defended The United States took advantage of this and in July invaded Canada forcing the British to defend their territory with the few troops that were there plus forces of the Canadian militia including some French-speaking Canadians and Indian allies A series of skirmishes and battles followed 3 B
