Maryland, Prince George's County, Brandywine
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Tobacco was a target along the Patuxent in 1814. The British raided places stocked with hogsheads of tobacco ready for shipment. Filled with dried tobacco leaves, the wooden barrels burned easily. Imagine the spectacle on June 17 when 1,100 hogsheads went up in flames at Moil and Magruder warehouse, located north of here at the end of Magruders Ferry Road.
Dual Strategy
By destroying tobacco the British hit where it hurt most—the heart of the region’s economy. They had another reason for the raids. Joshua Barney’s Chesapeake Flotilla was out of reach in St. Leonard Creek. By increasing raids along the Patuxent, the British hoped to force Barney out to defend local property.
Tobacco was a target along the Patuxent in 1814. The British raided places stocked with hogsheads of tobacco ready for shipment. Filled with dried tobacco leaves, the wooden barrels burned easily. Imagine the spectacle on June 17 when 1,100 hogsheads went up in flames at Moil and Magruder warehouse, located north of here at the end of Magruders Ferry Road.
Dual Strategy
By destroying tobacco the British hit where it hurt most—the heart of the region’s economy. They had another reason for the raids. Joshua Barney’s Chesapeake Flotilla was out of reach in St. Leonard Creek. By increasing raids along the Patuxent, the British hoped to force Barney out to defend local property.
“It would have distressed you to see the tobacco at Magruder’s burning, as I did... Eleven hundred hogsheads, nearly all consumed.”
– Unknown merchant, New York Herald, June 25, 1814
IMAGE / © GERRY EMBLETON
U.S. Flotilla in St. Leonard Creek by Com. Joshua Barney, June 1814
IMAGE / COURTESY NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION"
(War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 1 photo, GPS coordinates, map.
