c Your Pastport to THE WAR OF 1812 IN PRINCE GEORGe’s COUNTY, MARYLAND c was fought between theThe United War States and ofGreat 1812 Britain from 1812 until 1815. The war had several causes. During the late 1700s and the early 1800s, Great Britain was at war with France and began to face a shortage of skilled sailors. To acquire more men for its navy, Great Britain began to stop American and other ships and impress (take by force) sailors from them. England also tried to prevent the United States from trading with the French. Additionally, British soldiers continued to occupy territory belonging to the United States, despite Great Britain’s promise to remove these soldiers in the Treaty of Paris (1783) at the end of the American Revolution. Most of the soldiers were located along the Great Lakes, providing Indians, including the Shawnee leader Tecumseh, with support in their struggle against American settlers. A new generation of congressmen, called War Hawks, wanted war and an excuse to invade and expand into the British province of Canada. In 1812, President James Madison asked the United States Congress to declare war. Sign your Pastport to the War of 1812 here _________________________________________________________________________________ To learn more about the War of 1812 sites and communities in this Pastport, please contact M-NCPPC at 301-627-2270 or visit www.pgparks.com. h ater oodyard s Chance British W Invasion Route . Beanes’ Grave Bellefields St. Thomas Churc Mount Calvert Nottingham Pig Point The W Dr Darnall’ British Land Invasion Route # # # 1 0 3 . E . T R Aquasco D # R OM UPPER MARLBORO O R . C E # V # A # # L 02 A 2 R E. T . 3 RT D . 19 N R TE E E R C # N I – . W Y D 4 D R 1 N 0 2 N # BOWIE A 5 R . R . # E E B E V T T E R . Y S R Melwood Park - W K c . P M E N A V O T H A G N N A I I H A N S L A A V W / L H AVE. E # ANC R Y BR O – S 5 # M . I E T N L RT A B N FORESTVILLE – E 5 9 1 . P 2 E # T . R E – Y T R A 4 Andrews AFB . W E T T BLADENSBURG 5 R L # 9 - I E # # B # # L # # A T I P 0 A 1 A Guide to C 4 . – E D H A W E Y H . WAR OF 1812 SITES 5 T N A R I s House 9 D 4 N I - – IN PRINCE GEORGe’s COUNTY, I # 0 1 Addison Chapel 2 MARYLAND . E T Oxon Hill Farm R # VA Magruder House Ft. Lincoln Cemetery Riversdale # ashington House ashington ater Alexandria, c Ft. W Bladensburg Dueling Grounds George W Bostwick & Market Master’ British W Invasion Route h ater oodyard s Chance British W Invasion Route . Beanes’ Grave Bellefields St. Thomas Churc Pig Point Mount Calvert Nottingham The W Dr Darnall’ British Land Invasion Route # # # 1 0 3 . E . T R Aquasco D # R OM UPPER MARLBORO O R . C E # V # A # # L 02 A 2 R E. T . 3 RT D . 19 N R TE E E R C # N I – . W Y D 4 D R 1 N 0 2 N # BOWIE A 5 R . R . # E E B E V T T E R . Y S R Melwood Park - W K . P M E N A V O T H A G N N A I I H A N S L A A V W / L H AVE. E # ANC R Y BR O – S 5 # M . I E T N L RT A B N FORESTVILLE – E 5 9 1 . P 2 E # T . R E – Y T R A 4 Andrews AFB . W E T T BLADENSBURG 5 R L # 9 - I E # # B # # L # # A T I P 0 A 1 C 4 . – E D H A W E Y H . T 5 N A R I s House 9 D 4 N I - – I # 0 1 Addison Chapel 2 . E T Oxon Hill Farm R # VA Magruder House Ft. Lincoln Cemetery Riversdale # ashington House ashington ater Alexandria, Ft. W Bladensburg Dueling Grounds George W Bostwick & Market Master’ British W Invasion Route Discover the War of 1812 in your own backyard! Take this journey, visit these sites, and learn how much War of 1812 history our county has waiting for you to explore! Be sure to visit www.pgparks.com to find out more! AQUASCO Maryland Route 381 and Maryland Route 233 Aquasco, Maryland In the third year of the War of 1812, on August 19, 1814, approximately 5,400 British soldiers, mostly infantrymen and Marines, under the command of Major General Robert Ross, left their ships near Benedict in Charles County and began their march north toward Washington. Their immediate objective had been to capture Commodore Joshua Barney’s American flotilla, trapped further up the Patuxent River, but the thought of the capture of the new capital city, and the devastat- ing effect this would have on the Americans, proved too hard to resist. After a night in Benedict, they began their march toward Washington only to discover their men who had been at sea for four months were exhausted and suffering from the heat. They traveled only six miles before camping in Patuxent City, also in Charles County. The next day they began their slow march across Prince George’s County, encountering virtually no resistance. At the same time, British Admiral Sir George Cockburn (left) sailed the remainder of the fleet up the Patuxent River, camping at Aquasco on the night of August 20, 1814. NOTTINGHAM Town of Nottingham End of Nottingham Road on the Patuxent River Nottingham was established by the Maryland General Assembly in 1706. It was designated as a tobacco inspection site and, by the early 19th century, was a thriving commercial center. In 1814, Nottingham was in its heyday with a popula- tion of approximately 1,200 citizens. Joshua Barney had used the town as a base of operations for his flotilla for a brief period. On the night of August 21, 1814, British soldiers, under the command of Major General Robert Ross, camped at Nottingham. They left a rear guard as they resumed their march to Washington, D.C. ST. THOMAS CHURCH 14300 St. Thomas Church Road Croom, Maryland During the War of 1812, as the British were marching to Washington, they passed St. Thomas Church. Here they conducted a feint, first turning west toward Bellefields and the Woodyard, then doubling back and heading to Upper Marlboro. St. Thomas Church is mentioned by American General William H. Winder several times in his correspondence, including once as a place to meet Lt. Col. Frisby Tilghman with the cavalry. Several British soldiers, who died from heat stroke on their march to Washington, are buried in the cemetery of St. Thomas Church. TOWN OF PIG POINT On the Patuxent In April 1814, Joshua Barney, a naval hero of the Revolutionary War, assembled a flotilla of barges and gunboats known generally as the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla to stall the British attacks on the Patuxent River. After a series of valiant battles up and down the River, the flotilla was pushed up the Patuxent by the British and trapped. A plan was hatched to transport the entire flotilla overland from Queen Anne to the South River. Concerned that the flotilla would fall into British hands, Secretary of the Navy William Jones ordered Barney to scuttle the vessels should the British appear. On August 22, 1814, Barney ordered it’s destruction and he and his men marched, with the cannons that were movable, to Washington, D.C. where they were to join the Battle of Bladensburg. Burning of Havre de Grace, Maryland, Maryland Historical Society. Joshua Barney, top right. MOUNT CALVERT 16302 Mount Calvert Road Upper Marlboro, Maryland An English colonial town was established at Mount Calvert in 1684 and when Prince George’s County was organized in 1696, it became the county seat and was renamed Charles Town. The house at Mount Calvert was built around 1780 after the county seat was moved in 1721. In August 1814, Mount Calvert was the location where British Rear Admiral George Cockburn disembarked his seamen to join the Marines on their march to Washington, D.C. This followed the fiery destruction of the Chesapeake Flotilla by Commander Joshua Barney at Pig Point (now called Bristol Landing). After British forces moved on, Mount Calvert served as a U.S. Navy marshaling area for materials salvaged from the scuttled flotilla. BELLEFIELDS Private Residence, Croom, Maryland Bellefields is an early example of a Maryland Georgian country house. It was built around 1720 by Dr. Patrick Sim. On August 22, 1814, from a vantage point at Bellefields, Brigadier General William Winder and Secretary of State James Monroe watched the British forces under Major General Robert Ross march towards the town of Upper Marlboro where the British planned to camp for the night. UppER MARLBORO Upper Marlboro, Maryland When the British entered Upper Marlboro, they found it almost deserted. Major General Robert Ross and Admiral George Cockburn headquartered at the house of Dr. William Beanes (near present day Elm Street) from August 22 until the afternoon of August 23, 1814. There was no resistance by local citizens even though British troops commandeered food and supplies. FORESTVILLE Forestville, Maryland On the night of August 23, 1814, American troops camped at Long Old Fields (now called Forestville).