The First Battle of St. Michaels was an engagement contested on August 10, 1813, during the War of 1812. British soldiers attacked Maryland militia at St. Michaels, which is located on Eastern Shore of Maryland with access to the Chesapeake Bay. At the time, this small town was on the main shipping route to important cities such as Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Although St. Michaels had little importance compared to Washington and Baltimore, it was a target for the British because of its ship building and its connection with the town of Easton, which was the largest community in the Maryland Eastern Shore region. St. Michaels is located on the St. Michaels (later named Miles) River, which could be used with smaller boats to get within three miles (4.8 km) of Easton.
St. Michaels was attacked early in the morning before sunrise, when British forces arrived on the shore near the town. They quickly disabled an artillery battery, and returned to their boats. As they maneuvered their flotilla closer to the town, two other batteries manned by local militia opened fire. A boom placed across the mouth of the town's harbor successfully prevented the British from getting closer. Although the British returned fire, they eventually retreated to their base at Maryland's Kent Island. The locals suffered no casualties, while the British had casualties and damage to at least one barge. According to local legend, the citizens of St. Michaels hung lanterns in trees to fool the British artillerists, causing them to overshoot most of the town's buildings.
Background
On June 17, 1812, the United States Senate approved a resolution passed by the United States House of Representatives that declared war against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. President James Madison signed the resolution into law on June 18. The country was not united in its feelings toward Great Britain. Many members of the Federalist political party, a coalition of bankers and businessmen, were against the war. Contrary to the Federalists, members of the Democratic-Republican Party, who had a numerical superiority, believed a war was justified.
After the declaration of war, the British government declared the ports of the United States to be in a state of blockade. They began stricter enforcement of the blockade in 1813, when ships were sent to close the port of New York and others further south, including those on the Chesapeake Bay. Early in February 1813, British ships under the command of Rear Admiral George Cockburn took possession of Hampton Roads at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, which stopped traffic in and out of the bay. This effectively closed major ports such as Norfolk in Virginia and the Port of Baltimore in Maryland.
Beginning in spring, Cockburn conducted raids on towns along the Chesapeake. The raids involved the destruction or removal of property including crops and livestock. On May 3, Cockburn burned most of Havre de Grace, Maryland. Additional Maryland coastal towns, Georgetown and Fredericktown, were burned on May 6. First Lady Dolley Madison called Cockburn's raids "savage", and Cockburn threatened to capture and parade her through London. Cockburn established a policy that if a town kept no guns or militia, he would leave them unharmed.
Vice Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren was Cockburn's immediate superior, and he was headquartered in Bermuda. Warren believed he did not have enough ships to blockade the American coast. During May, he received two battalions of marines and additional ships. He issued a May 26 proclamation that New York and the Mississippi River were in a state of formal blockade. The same proclamation also listed as blockaded the South Carolina ports at Charleston, Port Royal, and Savannah. Royal Marines were sent to the Chesapeake Bay because of its naval stores, ships, dockyards, and foundries. Norfolk, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. were among the immediate targets.
Opposing forces
United Kingdom
Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren was the commander of North America and the West Indies during the summer of 1812, and in January 1813 Rear Admiral George Cockburn reported to Warren in HMS Marlborough. For the raid on St. Michaels, Cockburn had eight ships and 45 barges, including two battalions of Royal Marines and an army regiment. The forces that came ashore were under the command of Lieutenant James Polkinghorne of the Royal Navy. After the battle, he filed a report with Commander Henry Loraine Baker of the Royal Navy. Baker commanded HMS Conflict, a sloop with 10 to 12 guns (a.k.a. cannons or artillery pieces). The men used barges, which were propelled by oars and small sails, to reach the shore. The barges had a small gun, or "carronade".
United States
The United States had few federal troops near St. Michaels in 1813. Fighting was usually conducted by the state militia. Maryland's militia was organized into three divisions with a total of 12 brigades and 11 cavalry districts. Much of the Talbot County militia was formed in 1807 after the attack on the American USS Chesapeake by the British HMS Leopard. Brigadier General Perry Benson, who was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, commanded the militia of Talbot, Caroline, and Dorchester counties. His force at the battle consisted of two regiments, several companies of cavalry, and three artillery batteries.
- 12th Maryland Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General Benson.
- 4th Maryland Regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William B. Smyth. It consisted of men mostly from Easton, and had an artillery company.
- 26th Maryland Regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Auld, and had companies from the St. Michaels area.
- 9th Cavalry District was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Lloyd, and included companies from Easton, St. Michaels, and Trappe.
- two batteries (a third battery was the company that was part of the 4th Maryland Regiment)
Benson's brigade was large, but its training was inadequate. It also had a shortage of weaponry. Muskets were used by companies near threatened positions, and then transferred to the next threat when the original threat passed. Although Benson had a large force at St. Michaels, the fighting was conducted by the artillerists.
Prelude
The British captured Maryland's Kent Island during early August 1813. The island is located north of St. Michaels and across the bay from the Maryland state capital Annapolis. The British landed about 3,000 men on the island, but faced no resistance because most of the inhabitants fled when they learned of the invasion. The island had food and fresh water, and would provide a base for operations against Maryland's Eastern Shore, Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington.
During this time, the British had ships in Eastern Bay between Kent Island and St. Michaels, causing alarm throughout Talbot County. St. Michaels was a target because of its shipbuilding, and it had at least six vessels in the process of being built. It was also an outport for the town of Easton, which was largest town on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Easton had the only armory on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a bank, and plenty of goods for the British to plunder. Boats and small vessels could be used on the St. Michaels River to get within three miles (4.8 km) of Easton. A second water route to Easton, Tredhaven Creek, was protected by a six-gun battery called Fort Stokes.
Preparing for the British
"Americans had acquired new allies while the British were upon Kent Island...mosquitos, whose bloodthirsty numbers it was thought would soon drive the enemy to take refuge on board his ships."
Militia from throughout Talbot County were sent to St. Michaels to stand with the local infantry company, Saint Michaels Patriotic Blues, commanded by Captain Joseph Kemp with the artillery men commanded by Lieutenant William Dodson. Kemp's company and at least three of the Easton companies wore uniforms. The militia troops totaled to about 500 men, and they were led by Brigadier General Benson, Colonel Auld, and Colonel Thomas Jones. The men were quartered in the town's two churches.
Benson placed three artillery batteries around the town. East of town, Dodson commanded a group of 30 men with a battery of four guns behind a small fortification. The location was Parrott's Point (also known as Parrott Point), and it was at the mouth of the town's harbor on the south side. A boom was placed across the mouth of the harbor to prevent vessels from entering. Within the town at Dawson's wharf (at the end of Mulberry Street), a two-gun battery on wheels was commanded by John Graham with John Thompson and Wrightson Jones manning the 6-pounder guns. Two more guns were placed outside of town in case the British landed behind the town and marched toward it. This battery of two guns was commanded by Lieutenant Clement Vickers and manned by men from Easton in the company Talbot Volunteer Artillerists.
Videttes were stationed at various points to watch the British at Kent Island, and they reported to either Colonel Auld in St. Michaels or Brigadier General Benson in Easton. A British brig was seen making reconnaissance north of the town near Deep Water Point on the St. Michaels River. A deserter crossed the Eastern Bay and landed at Bayside. He said the British planned to attack St. Michaels within the week, but were worried about what they thought was a 10-gun battery.
Battle
Early in the morning on August 10, a total of 300 British soldiers and marines in nine to eighteen barges moved up the St. Michaels River. The river was over one mile (1.6 km) wide, and they traveled in fog and darkness along the shore opposite St. Michaels. Videttes on the St. Michaels side of the river did not observe the British force as it moved up the river and passed the harbor. The force crossed the river and arrived at about 4:00 am near Parrott's Point in foggy darkness. They disembarked in water near the flank of the Dodson's guns and breastworks, and were discovered by African American John Stevens.
Dodson's surprised men panicked, and most of them dropped their weapons and fled through a cornfield back to town. The British fired a volley from their muskets at the fleeing men, but damaged only the corn. The only men that remained with the guns were Dodson, Stevens, and a third man. The three men were able to re-position one gun, loaded with ball and canister, where it could fire effectively on the British. Having seen Dodson's men run, the British expected to capture the battery without resistance, but instead received the contents of a nine-pounder cannon. Despite their casualties, they continued to the guns while Dodson and his two men fled. The guns were captured and disabled.
Concluding an important part of their mission, the British returned to the barges with their dead and wounded. The barges moved to less than half a mile (0.8 km) from town, but were unable to cross the boom that had been placed earlier. They fired at the town from two guns, then assumed a position further out in the river, where they continued firing "with much vigor". A St. Michaels legend is that the town hung lamps in trees away from the houses, confusing the British and causing them to overshoot their targets. Graham's battery at Dawson's wharf returned fire, and eventually fired a total of 10 shots. Hearing the cannon fire, the Easton artillerists moved their battery from the Bayside road to Mill Point in town, and fired a total of five shots as the British began to retreat.
By 9:00 am the artillery duel was over, and the British returned to their base. Benson, his infantry, and his cavalry were waiting at the town square. They outnumbered the British force, but did not need to engage. The town had been successfully defended, and did not suffer the same fate as Havre de Grace.
Casualties
Lieutenant Polkinghorne's report said his British ground force had losses of "only two wounded". Discussing American casualties, Benson's report mentioned that "some of the houses were perforated", but no "injury to any human being". He also implied that the British had casualties, mentioning "much blood on the grass at the water" where the British barges were located. A deserter from the Royal Navy claimed their casualties were one captain, one lieutenant of the marines, and twenty-seven privates. He also thought one of the barges had significant damage. A second deserter believed that one of the British dead was an officer.
Aftermath
The British threatened St. Michaels again on August 26. This time, they sent 2,100 men in 60 barges. They landed about six miles (9.7 km) north of town, and 1,800 men met 500 Talbot County militia that included infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The largest Maryland Eastern Shore battle of the war lasted only a few volleys because the British withdrew.
Warren reported that he had problems with desertions in the army and poor discipline in the marines. His men began preparing to sail away from Kent Island on August 22 after determining that attacks on Annapolis and Baltimore would be ill-advised because those American cities had received substantial reinforcements. He also wished to sail to Halifax, Canada, before the start of hurricane season. By September, Warren departed to Halifax, and Cockburn had departed for Bermuda. A small "skeleton force" was stationed at the Virginia Capes for blockade purposes.