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The Invasion And Capture Of Washington In 1814

The Invasion And Capture Of Washington In 1814 image
Parent Issue
Day
24
Month
May
Year
1861
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

At this juncture in our bistory, a brief refereneo to the invasión and circumstanoes attcnding ihe capturo of Washington, by the British Admiráis Cockburn and Cochrant, will not bo inappropriate; and as many of those strangers now at the capital may feel intcrested to mark the looulities vvhere the first general encounter occurred and subsequent events took place, these will be noted bnefly in the order in which they transpired. During the early portion of the snmmer of 1814, Cockburn's fleetlay along the coast of Virginia, Maryland, and the Chesapeake, whfn'they werejoined, on the third of August, by Oochrane's fleet, direct from the Bertnudas, both numbering tog-ather twonty sails. Our government was apprised öi ho.=t;io ir. tentions upon the capital, but General Armstrong, then Secretary of War, professed a disbelief in the rumors, and the National Ldelligcncer, proverbiully cautious then, as now in its conclusions, doubted the probability of hostililo intentions upon the capital. President Madison, however, had taken some precautionary Bteps, by ordering a militia organization, which was deemed suffioient for the occasion, in addition to a flotillia ot barges, bearing guns, placed undor the command of Capt. Jos'hua Barney, and intended to check 'fleets in advancing towards the capital, iiut alter sailing up me Day, the troops disembarked at Benedict, on the banks of the Paturent River, on the 20th of August. On the following day the army, consisting of four thousand raen, took their march toward the infant city. They were without artillery or cavalry, and marched undcr the heat of a midsummer sun to Bladensburg, which tbey reachcd on the 24th. By adopting this route, the flotilla affordod do proteotion to the city, and, to prevent the guns or boats from being taken and used against the capital, they were blown up on the inorning of the 22d, by order of Wra. Jones, the Se retary of the Navy. The approach of the troops under Maj. General Kobert Ross and Admiral Cockburn, was watched by President Madison in peraon, who directed eight thousand inexperienced and undisciplined militia to Bladensburg, undcr the coinmand of Gen. Winder, to oppose four thousand British soldiers. Capt. Barney, having destroyed the flotilla, joined the military foroe of Gen. Winder, with one hundred seamen and his field-pieces. On the afternoon of the 24th. the British opened firc, which was succossfully returned by Barney's sailors, who maintaincd their positioa nobly, while the new recruits, under Winder, kept a respectful distancc,who randering liitle or no service with their' muskets, 6oon broke ranks and turned their backs upon the enemy. Barney's searnen fought bravely, and their guns proved terribly destructivo to the enemy. He was overeóme, however, after three hours' hard fighting, flanked by superior numbers, and finally feil wounded by tho side of eloven of his men who were killed at their guns. He ordered a retreat, and gave himself up. His bravery contrasted nobly with the disgraceful cowardice of the militia. (Alarge portion of these men were irom Baltimore ; and, if their sons of to-day possess no more of the elements essential to suceessful warfare, they will do well to make terms of poaee with the northern lads who propose to march through their city on the way to the capital.) The militia, without waiting for their commander to sound a rotreat took sudden leave of the battle-field, and made a direct line for the woods. The British experionced severo loss in their rauks, stated by tho historian Gleig, of the 85th Koyal regiment, ns high as five hundred men ktllcd, wounded and missing, ('ulonel Thornton, eomuiander of tho Light Brigade, Lieutenaot Colonel Wood, commandor of ti'.o 85th Begiment, and Mnjor Brown, who led on tho advanco troops, were soverely vvounded, vvhilo General Kogshada horso killed under bips, The loss was small on tho part of' Barney's roen j and the English author roforred to above admits that if tho militia had done their duty the victory wouid undoubtedly been on the American sido. Oi Barney's hundred sailors be speaks in tho higheat terras, romarUing tliat '' nqt only did thoy servo their guns with quickness and precisión which as toniahed their assailants, but thoy stooc still and somo of thera were actually bayoneted with fases in their hands nor was it till their leaders were woun ded and taken, and they saw themselves deserted on al! sides by the soldiors, that they quitted the field." Gen. Ross lod the Third British Brigade into the city, and tip to tho Capitol, on approaching whioh his horso was shot ander himby one of Bnrney'H men, who had concealed himself in a house for that object. The house was immediately entered, the inmatos put ío the sword, and the building and con tents burned. A volley was fired into the windows of the C;ipito!, wheñ ths troope entcred. Cockburn took the Speaker's chair, and asked the qnestion, " Shall this harbor of Yankee democracy bc burned ? All for it say aye." He reverscd the question, prononnced the motion oarried, and order ed the torch to bo put to the building. It was soon in flames. As a prudential step, the Secretnry of tho Navy ordered Commodore 'l'ingey to fire the navy-yard, which, with the ploop of-war Argus, (ten guns), five anncd bargee, two gun boats, and al! the naval stores, were eonsigned to the flames. The British troops then proceeded to the Trossury and President's mansion, both oí which they fired - the President having retreated, with his Cabinet, on horseback, across the Potomac. That night, the armyencamped on Capitol Hill, and was exposed to a severe storm, with heavy thunder, which added intensity of awe to the disrr.al scènes whioh had just been enacted. Daring the night .1 grandnephew of Gen. Washngton rashly attacked the sentrios, and was shot down. Tho long bridge, was siinultaneou.sly firod al each end, by the opposing 1 ties - each apprehensive of an attack by the other. 1 Next morning the British bnrned the 1 buildings connected with tho IN avy and 1 War Departments ; destroycd the ' tcriel in the National Int el I i geneer office, and threw the type out of tho windovv; 1 destroyed the romaining buildings about the navy-yajd and Greenleaf's I Point; throw a torch into a well where a large qnantity of povvder was cealed, which oxploded, destroying nearly cno hundred of tHe British troopa, scattering their mutilatcd ro mains in every direction. A fearful tornado iramodiately swept over the city, destroying buildings and property ns if in completion of tho general vvork of destrucüon. Very many of the enemy and of tho inhabitants were buried in the ru'ns of buildings blown downThe enemy alarmed for their own safety, withdrew f rom the city in the evoning, and hurried towards the place of embnrkation. After the lapse of half a century of poaeeful proaperity and rapid progresa in tho arts and commerce, Washington is ngoin tiirnntona,] wit.h iiivíision under circumstances vastly different from those on the former occasion. Thon we met a foreign foe, and the sympathies oí the whole nation were bound together as one united people. Now the enemy, , or rather tho enmity, has arisen among ourselves, and we propose to dasn from our lips the cup oi bliss so long enjoyed, and throw the nation into a fratioidai war, instigated through the wickedneas of poütieal fanaties, North and South.

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus