After penetrating two lines of defense, the British rushed toward the third line. Commodore Joshua Barney and Captain Samuel Miller with 400 flotillamen, 114 U.S. Marines, and some militia made a stand with five big guns across Bladensburg Road. Both Barney and Miller were wounded, and Barney’s horse was shot out from under him. Outflanked and out of ammunition, Barney ordered retreat. That night, August 24, 1814, the British burned federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
Due Respect
Joshua Barney’s Chesapeake Flotilla engaged the British on the Patuxent River. They later marched to defend Washington, where they helped form the third line at Bladensburg. After the battle, Barney’s opponents, Rear Adm. Cockburn and Maj. Gen. Ross, praised his actions in combat, paroled him, and provided medical assistance. The admiral said Barney and his men “…gave us the only fighting we have had.”
“The enemy who had been kept in check by our fire for nearly half an hour now began to out flank us on the right.…” –Com. Joshua Barney to Secretary of Navy William Jones, August 29, 1814
(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 1 photo, GPS coordinates, map.
