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GENERAL WILLIAM H. WINDER. 65
and barges opened a furious cannonade upon the moored ships which was
continued on both sides for nearly two hours, when by some mismanagement the battery from which so much was expected ceased firing, and
the men spiked their guns and abandoned it; upon which the barges
under the command of Barney, finding themselves within grape-shot
distance, contending unassisted against two frigates, a brig, two schooners
and a number of barges, were compelled, as a matter of necessity, to haul
off. A few minutes after the flotilla retired in consequence of this
attack, and the apprehensions of continued annoyance and ultimate destruction from the " land battery," the enemy retired from his position opposite
the mouth of the creek and anchored below " Point Patience." In this
action the barges under the respective commands of Sailing-Masters. Worthington,- Sellars and Kiddall, suffered severely, losing ten men killed and
wounded. Acting Midshipman Aisquith was killed.
The blockade being now removed, Commodore Barney withdrew his
barges from the creek, and removed them high up the Patuxent to Pig's
Point, on the Western Branch near Upper Marlborough.
On that day, 26th June, 1814, information was received by the President, from Messrs. Gallatin and Bayard, our ministers in Europe, that a
number of transports of the largest class, had been fitted out at Portsmouth, England, "as well as troop-ships, in that port," for the purpose,
it was believed, of going to Bordeaux, taking on
board the most effective of Wellington's veteran
regiments and conveying them to the United States.
Roused by this intelligence to the necessity of the
protection of the capital, the President invited his
cabinet officers to meet him on the 1st of July,
for the purpose of consulting on the measures
which it would be proper to adopt for the safety
of the city. At this meeting the President suggested a plan " of the force to be called immediately
into the field; the additional force to be kept under
orders to march at a moment's notice; its compo- general wm. h. winder.
sition and necessary equipment." The day after the cabinet council,
the President judged it expedient to create a new military district
by dismembering the 5th, and constituting out of its dissevered parts a
10th military district to be composed of that part of Virginia between the
Rappahannock and the Potomac Rivers, the District of Columbia and Maryland. The officer selected to command the new district was Brigadier
General William H. Winder, lately exchanged, and returned from Canada,
where he had been kept a prisoner after his unlucky capture at the battle of
Stony Creek in June, 1813. He immediately "accepted the command
without means and without time to create them; he found the district without magazines of provisions or forage, without transport tools or implements,
5-v. iii.
| Title | History of Maryland - 3 |
| Creator | Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas) |
| Publisher | J. B. Piet |
| Place of Publication | Baltimore |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000090 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | GENERAL WILLIAM H. WINDER. 65 and barges opened a furious cannonade upon the moored ships which was continued on both sides for nearly two hours, when by some mismanagement the battery from which so much was expected ceased firing, and the men spiked their guns and abandoned it; upon which the barges under the command of Barney, finding themselves within grape-shot distance, contending unassisted against two frigates, a brig, two schooners and a number of barges, were compelled, as a matter of necessity, to haul off. A few minutes after the flotilla retired in consequence of this attack, and the apprehensions of continued annoyance and ultimate destruction from the " land battery," the enemy retired from his position opposite the mouth of the creek and anchored below " Point Patience." In this action the barges under the respective commands of Sailing-Masters. Worthington,- Sellars and Kiddall, suffered severely, losing ten men killed and wounded. Acting Midshipman Aisquith was killed. The blockade being now removed, Commodore Barney withdrew his barges from the creek, and removed them high up the Patuxent to Pig's Point, on the Western Branch near Upper Marlborough. On that day, 26th June, 1814, information was received by the President, from Messrs. Gallatin and Bayard, our ministers in Europe, that a number of transports of the largest class, had been fitted out at Portsmouth, England, "as well as troop-ships, in that port," for the purpose, it was believed, of going to Bordeaux, taking on board the most effective of Wellington's veteran regiments and conveying them to the United States. Roused by this intelligence to the necessity of the protection of the capital, the President invited his cabinet officers to meet him on the 1st of July, for the purpose of consulting on the measures which it would be proper to adopt for the safety of the city. At this meeting the President suggested a plan " of the force to be called immediately into the field; the additional force to be kept under orders to march at a moment's notice; its compo- general wm. h. winder. sition and necessary equipment." The day after the cabinet council, the President judged it expedient to create a new military district by dismembering the 5th, and constituting out of its dissevered parts a 10th military district to be composed of that part of Virginia between the Rappahannock and the Potomac Rivers, the District of Columbia and Maryland. The officer selected to command the new district was Brigadier General William H. Winder, lately exchanged, and returned from Canada, where he had been kept a prisoner after his unlucky capture at the battle of Stony Creek in June, 1813. He immediately "accepted the command without means and without time to create them; he found the district without magazines of provisions or forage, without transport tools or implements, 5-v. iii. |
