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grace.

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At the first alarm, the secretary of the navy gave orders to set fire to the new sloop of war Argus, with ten guns, afloat; the new schooner Lynx, five barges, and two gunboats; and to the large frigate Columbia, on the stocks, just ready to be launched; the whole of which, with a vast quantity of stores and machinery, and the buildings containing them, were destroyed. The appearance of the fugitives from Bladensburg was the signal for a panic in the city, quite equal to that which had lost the battle. The president fled, as did also Mrs. Madison, after securing some valuable papers and the full length portrait of Washington which still adorns the White House. Armstrong, furnishing himself with one of Scott's novels, found refuge in a farm house; the other members of the administration shifted as best they could. Some of the most valuable public records were preserved from destruction by the exertions of the clerks in that department. Washington itself, before the arrival of the enemy, was abandoned to outrage and plunder by numbers of escaped slaves and ruffians; and for some time lawlessness and anarchy, fearful to think of, prevailed in the capital of the United States.

In the midst of this sad state of affairs, General Ross, about eight o'clock in the evening, accompanied by Cockburn, and a body guard of two hundred men, rode slowly into the now deserted city, its

*Ingersoll's "History of the Second War," vol. ii., A 181.

rare exceptions, having fled in every direction. As they advanced, a solitary musket was fired by some unknown person, from behind the wall of Mr. Sewall's house, and the general's horse was killed. The house was immediately assaulted, and the work of destruction commenced in earnest. The two wings of the capitol, which were the only parts finished, were gutted by fire, whereby the library of Congress and many valuable public documents perished. The president's official residence, with the offices of the treasury and state departments near it, shared the same fate. Numbers of cannon were destroyed, and others were spiked, had their trunnions knocked off, and were thrown into the river. Quantities of shot, shell, grenades, and cartridges were also cast into the river. Yet, so groundless was the terror, and mistaken the policy, which had led to the destruction at the navy yard, mentioned above, that only two brass pieces were there spiked by the enemy, whose alarm was so great as that, in their hurry, they left several hundred iron cannons uninjured; and also the arsenal, not far off, an important repository, of which their views and orders especially required the demolition, but which es caped both American and British mad

ness.

Whilst the British were drawing nigh Washington there had been indications of an approaching storm. In the course of the night it rolled up, and near morning, for two hours, the city 1814.

suffered from a furious tornado. The flames of the burning capitol, and

of the numerous other conflagrations, were paled by incessant flashes of lightning; and the roar of the guns which were used for destroying the buildings and stores, and the explosions of dépôts of gunpowder, were almost drowned by the heavy bursts of thunder.

The next morning the ruthless invaders continued their work. The war office was burned. The printing office of "The National Intelligencer" was sacked, under Cockburn's personal direction, and the letter thrown into the street. The great bridge across the Potomac was set on fire and destroyed. Two rope-walks, near the navy yard, were burnt, and by accident a torch was flung into a dry well in the arsenal at Greenleaf's Point, which had been used as a receptacle for old cartridges, waste powder, and other combustibles. A terrible explosion instantly ensued, the houses and buildings near were shattered and thrown down, and a great number of soldiers lost their lives, or were frightfully mutilated. There was also some injury done to private houses and stores by the invaders, but, principally owing to the interference of General Ross, who seems to have had grace enough to be ashamed of the contemptible work in which he was engaged, the depredations were not so numerous as Cockburn would have made, had he been allowed his own way entirely.* Notwithstanding the pusillanimous conduct of the Americans, who had

* The value of the public property destroyed at Washington exceeded $2,000,000. We have no estimate of the loss which was sustained by private individuals, in this disgraceful incursion.

abandoned everything to the foe, the British were very uneasy, and very anxious to get back to the cover of their shipping. A renewal of the hurricane of the preceding evening, more furious and destructive than anything the invaders had ever seen, urged them to hasten their departure. Early in the afternoon, the sky grew black; the wind rose in its fury; and amid the flashing lightning and terrific thunder, the roofs were blown from the buildings; houses and chimneys fell to the ground; and for two hours the rain came down in all directions like a deluge. Thirty or forty of the soldiers perished under the ruins of the fallen. walls and buildings. No wonder, if they were in a they were in a hurry to get away. Leaving the post office and patent office, and everything else marked out for destruction, the invaders, as soon as the darkness of the night admitted, hastily set out on their retreat. The wounded they could hardly undertake to remove; it was hence determined to leave them behind, and the care of them was assigned to Commodore Barney, who, as we have above said, had been wounded and taken at Bladensburg, and who, with the other prisoners, was released upon parole, for this purpose. The watchfires having all been trimmed, in perfect silence the enemy withdrew from the scene of devastation; more wounded were left behind at Bladensburg; at Nottingham, they met with some of their ships; and on the 29th and 30th, the whole expedition re-embarked at Benedict, to undertake other schemes of rapine and outrage.

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But little need be said further, re

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specting this Vandal-like inroad upon Washington.* That it should have been permitted by our countrymen must always remain a marvel; yet, where so many are to blame, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to discriminate, and fix the stigma upon those who rightly deserve it. However the student of history may decide on this point, there can be no doubt, that the British government disgraced itself effectually, by giving orders for such an expedition. More than anything else, it served to justify the heavy accusations of the war party against the British, and to show that, whatever were the feelings with which the United States had commenced hostilities, Great Britain had entered into them with all the truculence of civil war. And this consideration completely bars the praise which otherwise might be claimed for the skill and daring displayed in the invasion of Washington.+ In one respect the incursion was productive of real advantage to the administration. Although the president and his advisers, especially the secretary of war, were severely censured throughout the country; although General Winder was charged with incompetency, and Armstrong was compelled

* In connection with this unpleasant topic, it is only fair to refer the reader to Armstrong's chapter, in which he gives a brief narrative, with remarks respecting the invasion of the capital.-" Notices of the War of 1812," vol. ii., pp. 124-154.

The Rev. G. R. Gleig, in his "Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, in the years 1814, 1815," furnishes an interesting narrative of the invasion of Washington, which the reader will find worth perusing. A brief extract or two from this volume will be found in the Appendix at the end of the present chapter.

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to retire from his post, in consequence of the storm which arose on all sides against him;* yet so deep was the indignation aroused against the savage mode of warfare which England had ordered, that party spirit for a time was quelled; not a dissenting voice was heard; unanimity prevailed; the war became decidedly popular; and everywhere the militia were organized, and vigorous efforts made to place the seaboard cities and towns in a state of defence against invasion and ruthless destruction.

The enemy's ships, under Captain Gordon, (p. 248,) ascended the Potomac, and passed Fort Warburton three days after the capture of Washington. The fort had been abandoned and blown up by Captain Dyson, the commandant, in a most extraordinary manner; probably under the influence of the dreadful panic which generally prevailed. His orders had been to abandon it only in case of an attack by land forces; but, on a mere rumor, and without waiting the enemy's approach, he thought proper to take this measure, for which he was afterwards cashiered from the army. On the 29th, the squadron reached Alexandria; and the inhabitants of that place, being now in the power of the enemy, ingloriously

* General Winder was tried by a court martial, of which General Scott was president, and was honorably acquitted. Armstrong, whom few, if any, liked, was made the scape-goat of the whole disaster. The president advised him to withdraw from public notice, until the storm should have blown over; which he did; but soon after, on the 3d of September, sent in an indignant resignation of his office. Monroe was then appointed secretary of war provisionally, but without giving up his other office.

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made terms for the preservation of the town from conflagration and pillage. The insatiable avarice of Gordon and his men imposed the hardest conditions: all the merchandise then in the town, as well as all which had been removed thence since the 19th, was required to be put on board the shipping at the wharf, at the expense of the inhabitants, and, together with the shipping, including those vessels which had been sunk on the approach of the enemy, and the public and private naval and ordnance stores, to be delivered up to the enemy. These terms, slightly modified, were complied with; and Captain Gordon moved down the river with a fleet of prize vessels and a rich booty.

Preparations, meanwhile, had been hastily made by Captains Porter and Perry, of the navy, to throw difficulties in the way of the enemy's descent. During the five days of their return, they were greatly harassed and annoyed by cannon planted on the bluffs and hills, fire vessels on the water, and barges, manned by brave sailors and Virginians, day and night at work to impede the British retreat. But Gordon managed to escape with his illgotten booty, and reached the fleet on the 9th of September.

Sir Peter Parker, who ascended the Chesapeake, was less fortunate than his fellow invaders. A number of petty inroads were made, and houses and other property burnt. On the 30th of August, near midnight, Parker landed in the neighborhood of Moor's Fields, with the view of surprising a party of militia, encamped there

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under the command of Colonel Reed. In this he was disappointed, for the militia, having heard the approach of the barges, were prepared to receive him. Having landed, Parker moved forward at the head of about two hundred and fifty men, and, on approaching within seventy yards of the Americans, was received with a heavy fire. He endeavored to press forward on the centre of the line; but being foiled in this, he threw himself on the flank, where also he was bravely repulsed. About forty of the enemy were killed or wounded, Sir Peter Parker being among the latter. The British now retreated, and Parker died a few days afterwards, much and justly lamented.

The success of the marauding expedition against the city of Washington, excited British cupidity to a high degree; and it was determined by their leaders, to make a similar attempt upon Baltimore. The inhabitants, meanwhile, set to work vigorously to strengthen the defences of the city. A ditch was opened, and a breastwork thrown up on the high ground to the northeast of the city, to prevent the approach of the enemy in that quarter. The militia came in from the interior of the state, and from Pennsylvania and Virginia; and Commodore Rodgers of the navy, with his marines, took possession of the heavy batteries on the hill just mentioned. A brigade of Virginia volunteers, and the regular troops, were assigned to General Winder; and the city brigade was commanded by General Stricker; the whole under the chief direction of Major-general Smith. The approach to the city by water was de

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fended by Fort M'Henry, and garrisoned by about one thousand men, vol- | unteers and regulars, under Major Armistead. Two batteries upon the Patapsco, to the right of Fort M'Henry, to prevent the enemy from landing during the night in the rear of the town, were manned by a detachment of sailors, and were named Fort Covington and the City Battery. The people of Baltimore were not without strong hope of being able to repulse the enemy from their fair city, and they looked to the defence of Fort M'Henry with the deepest interest.

Admiral Cochrane proceeded up the Chesapeake, and, on the 11th of September, appeared at the mouth of the Patapsco, about fourteen miles from Baltimore, with a fleet of some 1814. fifty sail. The next day, the troops, numbering about six thousand, were landed at North Point, and, under the command of General Ross, took up their march for the city. While the land forces were advancing along the northern shore of the estuary, several vessels of light draught were ordered to ascend the river, to co-operate with them in the capture of Fort M'Henry, a fortification about two miles from the city. The British troops proceeded for several miles without opposition, but about one o'clock came in contact with an advance corps under Major Heath, whom General Stricker had sent forward from his position at Bear Creek, to reconnoitre. In the skirmish which ensued, General Ross, who had rashly pressed forward to the front, was shot through the side, and expired before he could be taken to the boats. Colonel

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Brooke immediately assuming the command, the light troops advanced, and a spirited action ensued. The artillery on both sides, the rifles of the Americans, and the British rockets, did great execution; but one regiment, the fiftyfirst, having been seized with a panic, and the British greatly out-numbering the Americans, General Stricker, after a gallant resistance of an hour and twenty minutes, was compelled to retire before the enemy. Falling back to about half a mile in advance of the entrenchments, Stricker was joined by General Winder, who took post on his left. The American loss in killed and wounded amounted to one hundred and sixty-three; that of the British, was two hundred and fifty. Not thinking it advisable to attempt pursuit, the British remained all night on the field of battle.

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The next morning, September 13th, the march was resumed, and the British commander soon had a full view of the position occupied by our country. men. During the morning, by his manœuvres to the right, he seemed to show an intention of coming down by the Harford and York roads; to baffle which design, Generals Winder and Stricker adapted their movements. At noon, the British concentrated their force in front of the American line, approached within a mile of the intrenchments, and seemed to be making arrangements for an attack that evening. General Smith, therefore, immediately drew Generals Winder and Stricker nearer to the right of the enemy, and ordered them to fall to fall upon their flank or rear, in case the attempt should be made.