Existing comment:
Benedict:
Benedict had been the site of two previous British raids during the war. The British continued their advance on August 21st, marching through the town of Aquasco, in southern Prince George's County, and continuing north to Nottingham where they camped for the night.
TO keep the Americans off balance, Admiral Cochrane sent a small squadron of bomb ketches up the Potomac River with orders to shell fortifications on that river's banks while a frigate and two schooners were ordered up the Chesapeake Bay to take positions above Baltimore. The intention was to force the Americans to divide their forces.
This raid up the Potomac River would later result in the bombing of Ft. Washington and the plundering of Alexandria, Virginia. |