CHARACTERS

Brigadier General John Stricker

On September 12, 1814, a British force of around 9,000 men was landed at North Point in Maryland, aiming to march upon and capture the city of Baltimore. Stricker, as commander of the third brigade of the Maryland Militia, was ordered to delay the British advance, in order to buy enough time to complete the building of defensive fortifications around Baltimore.

The fifth regiment (part of the third brigade) of the Maryland Militia was assigned the task of holding the right flank of the American forces, and withstood two hours of rocket fire and artillery before eventually being ordered to fall back to the newly constructed line of trenches outside Baltimore. The British army, many of whom were veterans of Napoleonic Wars, was surprised by the strong resistance of the Maryland Militia and, having taken around 300 casualties, they withdrew.