"GREATEST DISGRACE EVER DEALT AMERICAN ARMS"

BRITISH FORCES OVERWHELM AMERICANS, MARCH INTO CAPITAL, SET BUILDINGS ON FIRE

Bladensburg, Maryland (JFK+50) On August 24, 1814, British forces under General Robert Ross* overwhelmed inexperienced American regulars and state militia here at Bladensburg* effectively opening the way for a march into Washington, D.C.

The Battle of Bladensburg, or the "Bladensburg Races" has been referred to as "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms."

A hasty retreat by the Americans allowed British troops to march into the city that evening and set fire to many buildings.  President James Madison and the United States Congress managed to escape into Maryland and Virginia beforehand.

According to the American Battlefield Trust, the British attack was the only one on Washington, D.C. until the terrorist attacks of 9-11-01.

*General Robert Ross (1766-1814) was born in Rostrevor, U.K. & educated at Trinity College, Dublin.  RR served in the British Army 1789-1814 fighting in the French Revolutionary War, Napoleonic Wars & War of 1812.  RR was shot & killed by American sharpshooters at the Battle of Baltimore.

**Bladensburg, Maryland is located 8.6 miles northeast of Washington, D.C.

JFK+50 NOTE

The events of August 24, 1814 were part of the overall conflict in American referred to as the War of 1812.  It was fought between Great Britain and the United States 1812-1815.  While the war is historically regarded as a stalemate, Americans refer to it as a "second war for independence." 

SOURCE

"Bladensburg," The American Battlefield Trust, www.battlefields.org/ 

   

 

British Burn Washington

August 24, 1814

From book by Paul M. Rapid de Thoyras

1816

Library of Congress

Death of Stephen Decatur

STEPHEN DECATUR KILLED IN MARYLAND DUEL 194 YEARS AGO

Bladensburg, Maryland (JFK+50) Stephen Decatur, Jr.*, American hero in the war with the Barbary Pirates, was mortally wounded 194 years ago today, March 22, 1820, in a duel with James Barron here in Bladensburg.

The duel was the result of the role Decatur played in the court martial of James Barron and his opposition to Barron's reinstatement into the United States Navy.

James Barron had been found guilty of unpreparedness in the loss of the Chesapeake in 1807.

Barron challenged Decatur and their seconds set the duel for 9 o'clock.  The duelists were to stand 8 feet apart, face to face.  This arrangement virtually guaranteed both men would be shot.

James Barron was wounded in the leg while  Decatur, who suffered a wound in the abdomen, was taken to his home on Lafayette Square.

Decatur was carried into the front room where he died at 10:30 p.m. He was 41 years old.

Stephen Decatur, Jr. Home

Lafayette Square

Washington, D.C.

July 19, 2003

Photo by John White

The funeral of Stephen Decatur was attended by President James Monroe, most members of Congress and more than 10,000 citizens.
Barron was reinstated in the Navy in 1821.

*Stephen Decatur, Jr. (1779-1820), the son of a naval commander who served in the American Revolution, was born in Worcester County, MD.  He rose in the ranks of the United States Navy being appointed to Lt. by President John Adams in 1799.

After heroism during the Barbary Wars, Decatur became the youngest man to attain the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy.

Following the War of 1812, Decatur and his wife built a 3 story red brick house on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.  The home was designed by English architect Benjamin Latrobe who also designed the Capitol.

Stephen Decatur

PARLIAMENT PASSED STAMP ACT 249 YEARS AGO

London (JFK+50) Parliament passed the Stamp Act here in London 249 years ago today, March 22, 1765.

The act levied a direct tax on all printed materials, commercial or legal, sold in the American colonies.

The revenue raised from the tax was to be used to defray the cost of defending the vast lands in America acquired by Great Britain as a result of the French and Indian War.

The Stamp Act resulted in a storm of protest in the colonies.  The act, repealed in 1766, was a key event leading to the American War for Independence.

British Tax Stamp (1765)