Battle of North Point

The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814. This engagement was part of the larger Battle of Baltimore. After Major-General Robert Ross had defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814, and burned Washington, the British headed further up the Chesapeake Bay to the strategically more important port city of Baltimore. Ross's army of 3,700 troops, and 1,000 marines, landed at North Point on the morning of Se... more

The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814. This engagement was part of the larger Battle of Baltimore. After Major-General Robert Ross had defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814, and burned Washington, the British headed further up the Chesapeake Bay to the strategically more important port city of Baltimore. Ross's army of 3,700 troops, and 1,000 marines, landed at North Point on the morning of September 12, 1814, and began moving toward the city of Baltimore. Major General Samuel Smith of the Maryland militia anticipated the British move, and dispatched General John Stricker's column, along with several rifle companies, and a battery of 6, 5-pound guns. At that point, the peninsula was about a mile wide, and considered an ideal spot for bloodying the British before they reached the main American defensive positions. Stricker deployed his brigade half way between Hampstead Hill, just outside of Baltimore where there were earthworks and... less