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Two battles, seven skirmishes and more than a dozen raids occurred along Maryland’s Eastern Shore, giving rise to heroes like Kitty Knight and legends such as “the town that fooled the British.”

The invaders who arrived in early 1813 weren’t driven out until nearly two years later. In fact, the Battle of New Orleans, considered to be the definitive fight that ended the enemy threat once and for all, actually took place about one month earlier than the final engagement on the Eastern Shore — an American victory.

Slippery Hill, Slaughter Creek and the Ice Mound were among many places that saw significant action. Of particular note, American militia scored a lopsided triumph at Caulks Field, known today as one of the best-preserved War of 1812 battlefields in the mid-Atlantic region.

April 14, 1813 – The British establish an elaborate base of operations on Tangier Island.

April 29, 1813 – Frenchtown, located on the Elk River, is overrun by 150 Royal Marines.

May 6, 1813 – Kitty Knight convinces British raiders to spare her home while much of her Georgetown community burns.

August 10, 1813 – St. Michaels remains mostly unscathed despite a British bombardment. The enemy attacks again 16 days later, but with little effect.

August 13, 1813 – American militia in Queenstown hold off 300 enemy troops at Slippery Hill.

August 30, 1814 – The Battle of Caulks Field, fought days after the burning of Washington and shortly before the Battle for Baltimore, proves disastrous for the British. Promising, young Captain Peter Parker is counted among their dead.

February 7, 1815 – The last engagement of the war in Maryland, the Battle of the Ice Mound, is fought near Taylors Island. Twenty crewmembers on an icebound British tender surrender to American militia.

Less than two weeks before the U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Ghent, officially ending a war already decided on the battlefield, one more skirmish took place in Maryland. It happened on Taylors Island, where, just west of Slaughter Creek Bridge, a Battle of the Ice Mound Monument [1] now stands. In the bitter cold of a February morning, a tender to the British ship-of-war Dauntless became stuck in frozen water and proved an easy target for militiamen who aimed their muskets from behind heaps of ice. Twenty crewmembers surrendered. A 12-pounder carronade taken from the tender is part of the battle monument.

One of the legends arising from the War of 1812 involves “the town that fooled the British.” When faced with an early morning naval barrage in August 1813, citizens of St. Michaels hung lanterns high in trees and on the roofs of buildings so that British guns would overshoot their targets. At least, that’s how the story goes. Actually, the bombardment was part of a surprise attack that occurred when it was already light out, thus the more likely scenario is that the enemy was kept at bay by American cannons placed at strategic points around the harbor. Still, the legend lives on.

The British returned to St. Michaels two weeks later — 1,800 troops squaring off against 500 militiamen — but withdrew after only a short exchange of fire, making it the largest yet possibly shortest engagement of the war in the region. Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum [2] references both attacks in an exhibit and is also especially popular for its lighthouse and working boatyard. Church Cove Park [3] is the location for two six-pounder cannons overlooking St. Michaels Harbor.

The St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square [4] is made up of three 19thcentury structures, one of which houses a model depicting the town as it appeared during the war. Among the historic homes bordering the square is the Cannonball House, so named because a shot struck it during the first British attack on St. Michaels. The cannonball was said to have penetrated the roof, rolled across the attic and bounced down the inner staircase.

To the north in Queenstown, a skirmish took place just three days after the first attack on St. Michaels. About 20 militiamen, positioned in an area known as Slippery Hill, delayed the advance of a vastly superior British force long enough for the main body of American soldiers to withdraw toward nearby Centreville. An 1812 Memorial Park [5], featuring a monument to those who participated in the Battle of Slippery Hill, was recently dedicated in the town of Grasonville. Visitors can also see an 18th-century manor house on the private Bowlingly Estate [6] in Queenstown that was pillaged and damaged during the war.

At the Kent Narrows, in an area seized by British troops prior to their planned attack on Queenstown, the Chester-based Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center [7] is a regional information center that features a hands-on exhibit called “Our Chesapeake Legacy.”

Now fast-forward one year to August 1814: Washington had already been burned and Baltimore was clearly in British sights. From the deck of the HMS Menelaus stepped Sir Peter Parker, a 29-year-old captain who planned what he called a midsummer’s night “frolic with the Yankees” in order to sweep away pockets of resistance. First, however, American troops tried to mislead the British as to the size of their force by having the cavalry ride a ferry scow back and forth across an area near Rock Hall that is now part of the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge [8]. The ruse apparently worked, as Captain Parker wrote that he observed regular troops and militia in motion “along the whole coast.”

Three days later, Caulks Field was the scene of a battle that left 15 British soldiers dead, including Captain Parker. Casualties on the American side amounted to just three wounded; the outcome provided a major morale boost leading up to the Battle for Baltimore less than two weeks later.

Amid cornfields near the town of Fairlee, just northwest of Chestertown, a simple Caulks Field Monument [9] complements a landscape that has changed little in the last 200 years. Lieutenant Colonel Philip Reed, a former Revolutionary War soldier and U.S. Senator who led the militiamen, is buried in the churchyard at Christ Church I.U. [10], Worton, also the site of an 18th-century sexton’s house.

North side of Taylors Island Rd. (Rt. 16) at Slaughter Creek Bridge, Taylors Island

North side of Caulks Field Rd. northwest of intersection with Tolchester Beach Rd., (Rt. 21), Fairlee

Tangier Island & Vicinity

THE WATERMEN OF TANGIER ISLAND, Virginia, separated as they were from the nearest mainland by 12 miles of water, lived a quiet life on the Virginia side of the Chesapeake Bay. That is, until confronted by hundreds of British troops.

Seeking a suitable place for a base of operations that would help them enforce a blockade of the Chesapeake Bay, the enemy force came ashore to build Fort Albion, which included barracks, a hospital, a church, storage sheds and 20 dwellings protected by long walls and two redoubts.

As explored at the Tangier History Museum and Interpretive Cultural Center, 700 liberated slaves, many of them women and children, were brought to the fort and became a drain on the island’s scarce resources. However, from this vantage point, British leaders were able to launch large attacks on important American targets in all directions.

Just across the Maryland line, British raids took their toll on places such as Ewell (Smith Island), Deal Island and Crisfield. But sometimes, Eastern Shore citizens reaped their revenge. One Crisfield story tells of a boy who convinced some British sailors that a wasps’ nest (the entrance of which he had plugged with mud) was actually abuzz with hummingbirds. The boy got a fair distance away before the sailors pulled the plug and the wasps attacked.

Tangier Island is accessible via ferry from Crisfield on the Maryland side or Onancock and Reedville on the Virginia side.

Upper Chesapeake Bay– East Side

THE VILLAGES OF FREDERICKTOWN and Georgetown, both of which were burned during British raids in 1813, rest on the banks of the Sassafras River. Two Georgetown residences that survived the destruction were said to have been spared because Catharine “Kitty” Knight confronted British Rear Admiral George Cockburn himself and convinced him that a defenseless, elderly neighbor might be displaced if a fire were to start. The two residences are now known collectively as the Kitty Knight House [11].

U.S. Navy hero Jacob Jones once lived in what remains a private residence in the town of Cecilton. Jones commanded the U.S. sloop-of-war Wasp, which, early in October 1812, captured the HMS brig Frolic after both vessels were disabled during a vicious fight in the Atlantic.

Similar to St. Michaels, Elkton twice repulsed British attacks. Elk Landing Historic Park [12] is the site of Fort Hollingsworth, one of three earthworks that defended the town. Joyous citizens gathered here in February 1815 when word reached them that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, ending the war.

WHILE YOU’RE IN THE AREA

WATERFRONT VILLAGES WITH WALKABLE town centers make Maryland’s Eastern Shore a warm and friendly place to relax any time of the year.

The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network consists of dozens of Eastern Shore locations offering easy access to boating, bird watching, fishing and sightseeing opportunities. Popular gateways include Janes Island State Park, with its 30 miles of water trails near Crisfield, and the Wye Grist Mill, which is still operating more than two centuries since it ground flour for General George Washington’s Continental Army. St. Michaels offers prime access to the Miles River, while Turner’s Creek Landing in Kennedyville is a recreational link to the Sassafras River.

Much of the region is also just an hour’s drive from Ocean City, a favorite family destination with white-sand beaches, seaside amusements and an iconic boardwalk. The Maryland portion of a Cape-to-Cape Scenic Byway ambles 79 miles along the Atlantic Coast.

The Chesapeake Country National Scenic Byway connects many of the Eastern Shore’s waterfront communities and historic sites. It runs for more than 400 miles from Chesapeake City south to Crisfield, winding along unspoiled landscapes toward opportunities for kayaking, biking on mapped routes, gallery hopping and seafood dining.

Agiant, sail-shaped canopy off U.S. Route 50 in Cambridge marks the spot of the Sailwinds Park East visitor center. Cambridge is also one of several Maryland Arts & Entertainment Districts in the region and is the starting point for the 125-mile Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Scenic Byway and All-American Road.

Wildfowl decoy carving is a traditional craft celebrated in this region at several annual festivals and sites such as Salisbury’s Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art and Crisfield’s Tawes Historical Museum (two more Bay gateways!). Carvers don’t need to travel far for inspiration — biking-friendly Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge is a favorite stop for migrating waterfowl and boasts the largest nesting population of bald eagles on the East Coast. Meanwhile, the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center in Grasonville is visited by more than 200 species of birds throughout the year.

Paved biking routes in various parts of the region promise exceptional views. On Kent Island, the Cross Island Trail extends from the Bay, through Stevensville’s historic district and past impressive wetlands.

Charm is in ready supply throughout Easton, which has been listed among America’s “best small towns” and is a regional hub of arts and culture. The same can be said for nearby St. Michaels, recognized as one of the nation’s most romantic escapes and the site of a water trail that is popular among leisurely paddlers. Both towns are important destinations within the Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area, one of three official Maryland Heritage Areas on the Eastern Shore.

Towns that managed to stay out of harm’s way during the War of 1812 still feature many 18th-century structures. Chestertown, for instance, is occupied by a number of red-brick merchants’ houses. A replica 1768 schooner, the Sultana, also makes her home in this historic port community, which each year re-enacts the “Chestertown Tea Party,” a protest that allegedly occurred a few months after the more famous colonial demonstration that took place in Boston.

Upper Bay enchantment is found along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City and amid the antiques shops and specialty boutiques of North East’s pedestrian-friendly main street. North East also provides launch ramps for access to bass fishing on the Susquehanna Flats and is home to Elk Neck State Park, the cliffside heights of which are dominated by a 19th-century lighthouse.

In Elkton, the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area is a former du Pont property well-known for its extensive trail system and various equestrian pursuits.

TRAVEL RESOURCES

Star-Spangled Banner - Star-Spangled Banner 2018

Eastern Shore

Heroes & Legends: LIFE AMID THE CANNON FIRE

Tangier Island & Vicinity

Upper Chesapeake Bay– East Side

WHILE YOU’RE IN THE AREA

TRAVEL RESOURCES

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