Combat· War of 1812
Battle of Bladensburg
The defense of Washington collapsed into a rout, but the Marines made it a fight.
As the militia line broke under British rockets and bayonets, Captain Samuel Miller's Marines and Commodore Joshua Barney's flotilla sailors held the last position on the Washington road, working their naval guns and pouring in musketry that twice stopped the British 85th and 4th Regiments cold. They held until the enemy worked around their flanks and ammunition ran low. The cost was heavy: of Miller's detachment, one corporal and seven privates were killed and fourteen more wounded, including Captain Miller, shot through the arm, and Captain Sevier. Barney was wounded and captured. In a day of national humiliation, the stand by Barney's seamen and Miller's Marines was the one creditable American performance, and it became a lasting point of pride for the Corps.
Podcast episodes on War of 1812
Record no. 84