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Baltimore Turns the Tide
After crushing the Americans at Bladensburg and invading the Nation's Capital, the British targeted Baltimore. If they could capture the city---the third largest in the United States and a commercial and shipbuilding hub---they could likely bring the war to an end. Military and civilians, including free and enslaved blacks, rallied to fend off the British.
On September 12-14, 1844, the British attacked by land from North Point and by water at Fort McHenry on the Patapsco. The impressive American defenses and the failure to capture Fort McHenry persuaded the British to withdraw, essentially ending the Chesapeake Campaign of 1814. |