Personal Narrative of Events, From 1799 to 1815

by William Stanhope Lovell

It is revolting to honourable feeling to meet in society at home or abroad, foreigners from nearly all nations covered with insignias or medals; while we,—who have had the pleasure of beating them in every part of the world, and which, with God’s blessing, should our king and country need our services, we shall be too happy to do again,—have neither.

On the 17th of August, the Tonnant (80), Vice-Admiral Sir A. Cochrane; Royal Oak (74), Rear-Admiral P. Malcolm; several frigates and smaller men-of-war, with twenty sail of transports, having on board the 4th, 21st, 44th, and 85th Regiments of foot, and the marine battalion, under Lieut.-Colonel Malcolm, joined the squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral Cockburn, at the mouth of the river Patuxent. The land forces were commanded by the gallant Major-General Ross. We weighed on the morning of the 20th, and sailed up the river to Benedict, where we landed the troops, which, including artillery, sailors, and marines, did not muster more than 4500 men.

On the evening of the above day all the boats of the fleet, manned and armed, divided into divisions and sub-divisions, of which I commanded one, left the ships, advanced up the river towards Lower Marlborough to attack the American gun-boats, under Commodore Barney, and likewise to act on the right flank of our army. As we advanced, the enemy’s flotilla retired sixty miles further up the river to a place called Pig Point, where, in a most favourable position for defence, surrounded by banks and narrow creeks, with a wooded country on one side, and hills on the other, which were to have been lined with riflemen and other troops, it was their intention to have awaited the attack.

Late in the evening of the 21st the boats reached Nottingham, when we fired on a few American dragoons, and drove them out of the town. Our army arrived a short time afterwards. The next day, at noon, we came up with the vessels of the enemy, who on our approach set them on fire, and blew them all up, except one, which, together with five merchant schooners, we brought away. This service was performed with little loss on our side, for the advance of our infantry had driven the Americans from the woods, who had fallen back upon the main road to Washington. One division of boats proceeded to Upper Marlborough to keep up a communication with our army; the remainder occupied a position at Pig Point to cover a retreat.

No sooner was the flotilla destroyed than the brave and dashing Rear-Admiral Cockburn joined the troops, and marched with them to attack the city of Washington.

This most gallant and daring affair was accomplished by 4500 British infantry, after first beating an American army of more than four times their own number, with their President, “Jim Madison,” at their head, who appeared on the field of battle mounted upon a white horse, and wearing a huge cocked hat. He addressed the American army previous to the battle of Bladensburgh, and recommended them to do their duty and fight well for the honour of their country, kill and make prisoners of all the Britishers, and then, wishing them success, and saying fighting was not in his province—he left that to the gallant generals who understood the art of war—he put spurs to his horse, and rode off to Washington to order refreshments and a grand fête to be got ready at the capital for the victorious army of the United States.

General Ross, Rear-Admiral Cockburn, and all the field officers of the to-be-captured army, were to have been invited; but they forgot the advice of Mrs. Grundy in her cookery book, “Catch your hare first.” This is an absolute fact, for when our troops entered Washington the evening of the battle, tables were very elegantly laid out in the rooms of the President’s house, and wine placed in coolers ready iced, which the great politeness of the Americans left free for us to drink, for fear their presence might prevent our people feeling quite at home and at their ease.

But to return to the advance of our troops. No sooner did the enemy see the steady and undaunted forward movement of part of the 4th, with the whole of the gallant 85th Regiment,—commanded by two fine, brave, dashing fellows, Colonel Thornton and Major Brown,—attempt to pass the bridge over the river Potomac, “which they had left to allow the Britishers to cross, that they might take them all prisoners” (the Americans having destroyed all the others), than they opened a most destructive fire from their heavy batteries of 24-pounders, which they had thrown up to enfilade it, and which were commanded by a brave old fellow of the United States’ Navy, Commodore Barney, who was wounded and taken prisoner, and whose flotilla of gun-boats we had previously destroyed at Pig Point, in the river Patuxent. He, however, made his escape with seven or eight hundred seamen, joined the American army, and was of great service in working and firing the guns in their field batteries, which were supported by a very heavy fusilade of musketry.

The round and grape shot from the heavy guns in battery made fearful gaps in the ranks of the advancing column, but, nothing daunted, they gave three cheers, and rushed on in the most daring manner, which the enemy observing, it created a panic amongst them, and they gave way, declaring, I was informed, “that it was of no use their staying there to be shot, for the Britishers did not mind being killed at all.” So off they went, and never stopped until they got on the other side of Washington.

The whole of the narrative of the attack on Washington and Baltimore has been so ably and faithfully described by the gallant author of the “Subaltern,” that I shall confine myself to our naval affairs, but I thought the above anecdotes, which are not mentioned in his work, were worth preserving to show the character of the natives.