In 1812 the United States went to war with Great Britain over the freedom of the sea. For two years the U.S. held them off even though they were a young and much weaker country. G.B. was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon, in fact just as the U.S. declared war with G.B. Napoleon invaded Russia. Everyone expected Napoleon to win and control all of Europe and G.B. would have been isolated. It was no time for them to be involved in a war with America. In the beginning the U.S. naval forces were superior and won the battle on Lake Erie in 1813. Commander Oliver Hazard Perry sent this message, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” The ‘Battle of the Thames’ was a key victory of the north prong against the British and the Tecumseh Indians; Col. Richard Johnson was wounded five times before killing Chief Tecumseh.

However, the shear weight of the British navy beat down the U.S. navy tightening the blockade and threatened  secession.  Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia with the help of the British and ‘Wellington’s Invincibles’ and Adm. Nelson’s men and forced to abdicate. G.B. now turned its attention to the U.S. and launched a three pronged attack. One – Down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize New England; Two – Up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and cut off the west; Three – Hit the Mid-Atlantic states, burn Washington DC, capture Baltimore and meet at the Susquehanna or Schuylkill and celebrate.

On August 19, 1814 Major Gen. Ross disembarked at Benedict on the Patauxent River and began to move toward Washington. He was met by Vice Adm. Alexander Cochrane in Upper Marlboro just east of DC. It was a small town and even today it has a population of only 648 residents. Ross and Cochrane had under their command four battle hardened regiments of soldiers transferred to them from the war office of G.B.  Soldiers who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, along with Wellington’s ‘Invincibles’ and Nelson’s  ‘ruthless fighters.’

Gen. Ross set up his Hdqrs. at the home of Dr. William Beanes an elderly physician who rendered an ‘oath of good behavior’ of which, he had no choice. The British left for Washington and met an army of raw militia at Bladensburg to defend Washington. The inexperienced militia was easily swept aside by the battle hardened, experienced British soldiers. Washington was sacked and burned in retaliation for the Americans burning the Parliament in Toronto, Canada. James Madison was the president and escaped to Virginia as his wife Dolly grabbed their valuables. The violent rain and it is believed two tornadoes put out the fires in Washington and in the naval ship yard. Some of the British soldiers returned to Upper Marlboro and imposed themselves on Dr. Beanes. Exactly what happened is unclear but three British soldiers were arrested for disturbing the peace. One of them escaped and reported it to Gen. Ross and Dr. Beanes was arrested for violating his, ‘oath of good behavior’ and put in shackles and solitary confinement on the HMS Tonnant.

Word of Dr. Beanes arrest, a close friend of President Madison spread quickly and all efforts to obtain his release failed so they turned to a close friend, someone of influence and a Christian. Att. Francis Scott Key, who was born in western MD. Bearing an official letter from President Madison, he set off with Col. John Skinner a federal agent whose job it was to arrange the transfer of prisoners. On Sept. 5, 1814 they set sail from Baltimore to meet the British fleet somewhere in the Chesapeake Bay, but it occurred a lot sooner than they expected because the entire British fleet was on its way to Baltimore to blow up Fort McHenry and attack Baltimore and destroy it. Then Key and Skinner boarded the HMS Tonnant and dined and talked with Adm. Cocnrane and Gen. Ross about the release of Dr. William Beanes but to no avail. Until Col. Skinner produced a pouch of letters written by wounded British soldiers at the battle of Bladensburg praising Dr. Beanes for his services and skills while tending to their wounds, then Adm. Cochrane signed his release.

However, since Key and Skinner were aware of the attack on Baltimore and Ft. McHenry, for security reasons they could not be allowed to return to Baltimore until the British objective was finished. Since the HMS Tonnant was over crowded and to large to sail up the bay, Adm. Cochrane transferred his flag to the HMS Surprise to take charge of the attack on Ft. McHenry. Scott and Skinner were transferred to the HMS Minden with Dr Beanes to watch the bombardment of Ft McHenry and Gen. Robert Ross returned to North Point to lead the land invasion against Baltimore. Over 50 British ships with over 6,000 battle hardened troops began off loading at North Point before the first light but 15,000 militiamen were waiting for them in Baltimore. Gen. Robert Ross rode with Adm. George Cockburn and six other officers.

They stopped at a farm owned by Robert Gorsuch and ordered him to fix breakfast and then forced him to taste every dish first. After they ate their fill, Gorsuch asked if they would be returning for supper? Gen. Ross replied in a very arrogant tone, “NO! I shall eat my supper in Baltimore or in HELL!” No sooner had he uttered those words, then musket shots were heard in the distance. The officers jumped up and mounted their horses and galloped off to the skirmish and found their advanced guard locked in a fierce firefight with the militia.                             ‘Between The Lines’