Existing comment:
Shining Moments:
As others panicked and fled the British on August 24, 1814, Dolley Madison took heroic action. The First Lady moved to safety an original draft of the Declaration of Independence and the famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. Both would surely have perished when the British burned the President's House. Madison's foresight was one bright side in an otherwise embarrassing episode.
For our altars and our hearths:
Maryland was the scene of seven battles, 21 skirmishes and 61 British raids along the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac, Patuxent and Choptank rivers. Local militia sometimes fought back, but generally avoided direct engagement with superior forces. The low point: August 23-25, 1814 with the British rout at Bladensburg and capture of Washington DC. The highpoint: the heroic defense of Baltimore three weeks later. |