North Point | Sep 12, 1814

Following the burning of Washington, D.C, the British forces in the Chesapeake Bay area next set their sights on the port city of Baltimore, Maryland. On September 12, 1814, some 4,500 British soldiers and marines landed on the peninsula created by the Back and Patapsco Rivers. This force was commanded by the veteran Maj. Gen. Robert Ross. To meet this threat, a force of 3,200 Americans commanded by General John Stricker marched out to intercept Ross' forces. Utilizing the streams, hills, and swamps to the area to protect his line, Stricker advanced a force of American rifleman toward the British camps, in hopes of drawing the enemy into battle on ground of his choosing. The Americans were met with early success, and they even managed to fell Ross. Mortally wounded, the British commander turned command over to Col. Arthur Brooke.

Brooke advanced on the American position near 3 PM. He launched frontal assaults to hold Stricker's men in place, while he sent a force around the American flank to drive them from the field. Although the frontal attack was met with fierce resistance and heavy casualties, the British flanking column succeeded in dislodging the Americans, sending them to flight, opening the path to Baltimore.