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66 HISTORY OF MARYLAND.
without a commissariat or efficient quartermaster's department, without a
general staff, and finally without troops."1 On the 4th of July, a requisition for 93,500 men was made by the secretary of war upon the several
States to be organized and held in readiness for immediate service under
the laws of the 28th of February, 1795, and 18th of April, 1814. Under
this call, Maryland was required to furnish the army with six regiments
amounting to six thousand men, consisting of six hundred artillery and
five thousand four hundred infantry, who were "to be organized and
equipped, and held in readiness for future service" within the State
"until the 10th district should be actually invaded or menaced with invasion," when, and not sooner, General Winder was authorized "to call for a
part or for the whole of the quota assigned to the State of Maryland which
shall have been organized and equipped under the aforesaid requisition."2
General Winder returned to Baltimore " about the 4th or 5th of July,"
and while there, he addressed the following letter to the secretary of war:
u gir. "Baltimore, July 9th, 1814.
" The objects of the command which has been conferred on me, have, consequently,
since I received it, occupied my serious consideration.
" The utmost regular force which, it is probable, can, in the present state of affairs, be
placed at my command, including the force necessary for garrisoning the several forts,
will not exceed 1,000 men, and some weeks will necessarily elapse before the detachments
from Virginia and Carlisle will reach my District: the detachments of the 36th and 38th
are, therefore, the only troops that I can expect to have in the field in the meantime;
and when those other detachments join, the utmost force will be 700 to 800.
" In conversation with you at Washington, I understood the idea at present entertained relative to the auxiliary militia force proposed for the District, to be, that it shall
be drafted and. designated, but that no part of it is to be called into the field until the hostile
force now in the Chesapeake, shall be reinforced to such an extent as to render it probable that a serious attack is contemplated.
" The enemy's fleet has now spent more than a twelvemonth in the waters of the Chesapeake; and during that time has visited almost every river falling into the bay; and
must be presumed to have such accurate information, that whatever expedition may be
destined to these waters, will have a definite object, to the execution of which, on its
arrival, it will proceed with the utmost promptitude and despatch. Should Washington,
Baltimore, or Annapolis, be their object, what possible chance will there be of collecting a
force, after the arrival of the enemy, to interpose between them and either of those places?
They can proceed, without dropping anchor, to within three hours' rowing and marching of
Baltimore; within less of Annapolis; and upon arriving off South River, can debark, and
be in Washington in a day and a half. This celerity of movement on their part is not
probable, owing to adverse weather, and other causes; but if the enemy has been active,
while in our waters, to acquire a knowledge of our country, of which there can be no
doubt, and should be favored with weather on the arrival of reinforcements, he can be in
Washington, Baltimore, or Annapolis, in four days from entering the Capes. But allowing liberally for all causes of detention, he can be in either of those places in ten days
from his arrival. What time will this allow us to hear of his arrival, to disseminate
through the intricate and winding channels the various orders to the militia, for them to
1 Wilkinson's Memoirs, i., p. 754. 2 Ibid, i., p. 755.
| 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 | 00000091 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 66 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. without a commissariat or efficient quartermaster's department, without a general staff, and finally without troops."1 On the 4th of July, a requisition for 93,500 men was made by the secretary of war upon the several States to be organized and held in readiness for immediate service under the laws of the 28th of February, 1795, and 18th of April, 1814. Under this call, Maryland was required to furnish the army with six regiments amounting to six thousand men, consisting of six hundred artillery and five thousand four hundred infantry, who were "to be organized and equipped, and held in readiness for future service" within the State "until the 10th district should be actually invaded or menaced with invasion," when, and not sooner, General Winder was authorized "to call for a part or for the whole of the quota assigned to the State of Maryland which shall have been organized and equipped under the aforesaid requisition."2 General Winder returned to Baltimore " about the 4th or 5th of July," and while there, he addressed the following letter to the secretary of war: u gir. "Baltimore, July 9th, 1814. " The objects of the command which has been conferred on me, have, consequently, since I received it, occupied my serious consideration. " The utmost regular force which, it is probable, can, in the present state of affairs, be placed at my command, including the force necessary for garrisoning the several forts, will not exceed 1,000 men, and some weeks will necessarily elapse before the detachments from Virginia and Carlisle will reach my District: the detachments of the 36th and 38th are, therefore, the only troops that I can expect to have in the field in the meantime; and when those other detachments join, the utmost force will be 700 to 800. " In conversation with you at Washington, I understood the idea at present entertained relative to the auxiliary militia force proposed for the District, to be, that it shall be drafted and. designated, but that no part of it is to be called into the field until the hostile force now in the Chesapeake, shall be reinforced to such an extent as to render it probable that a serious attack is contemplated. " The enemy's fleet has now spent more than a twelvemonth in the waters of the Chesapeake; and during that time has visited almost every river falling into the bay; and must be presumed to have such accurate information, that whatever expedition may be destined to these waters, will have a definite object, to the execution of which, on its arrival, it will proceed with the utmost promptitude and despatch. Should Washington, Baltimore, or Annapolis, be their object, what possible chance will there be of collecting a force, after the arrival of the enemy, to interpose between them and either of those places? They can proceed, without dropping anchor, to within three hours' rowing and marching of Baltimore; within less of Annapolis; and upon arriving off South River, can debark, and be in Washington in a day and a half. This celerity of movement on their part is not probable, owing to adverse weather, and other causes; but if the enemy has been active, while in our waters, to acquire a knowledge of our country, of which there can be no doubt, and should be favored with weather on the arrival of reinforcements, he can be in Washington, Baltimore, or Annapolis, in four days from entering the Capes. But allowing liberally for all causes of detention, he can be in either of those places in ten days from his arrival. What time will this allow us to hear of his arrival, to disseminate through the intricate and winding channels the various orders to the militia, for them to 1 Wilkinson's Memoirs, i., p. 754. 2 Ibid, i., p. 755. |
