Above: St. Michaels Harbor – St. Michaels . Below: At William Merchant’s 1805 Cannonball House, a cannonball bounced in front of Mrs. Merchant and her daughter . 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 KEY DESTINATIONS [1] Battle of the Ice Mound Monument North side of Taylors Island Rd. (Rt. 16) at Slaughter Creek Bridge, Taylors Island [2] Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum 213 N. Talbot St., St. Michaels 410-745-2916, cbmm.org [3] Church Cove Park Foot of Green St., St. Michaels [4] St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square St. Michaels 410-745-9561, stmichaelsmuseum.org [5] 1812 Memorial Park Nesbit Rd. & Rt. 18, Grasonville [6] Bowlingly Estate Maryland Ave., Queenstown [7] Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center 425 Piney Narrows Rd., Chester 410-604-2100, findyourchesapeake.com/places/ chesapeake-exploration-center [8] Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge 1730 Eastern Neck Rd., Rock Hall 410-639-7056, easternneck.fws.gov [9] Caulks Field Monument North side of Caulks Field Rd. northwest of intersection with Tolchester Beach Rd., (Rt. 21), Fairlee [10] Christ Church I.U. (Isaac Usilton) Parish 25328 Lambs Meadow Rd., Worton iuparish.org [11] Kitty Knight House 14028 Augustine-Herman Hwy. (Rt. 213), Georgetown [12] Elk Landing Historic Park 590 Landing Ln., off Pulaski Hwy. (U.S. Rt. 40), Elkton 410-620-6400, elklanding.org ©RALPH ESHELMAN, 2010 ©GERRY EMBLETON Star-Spangled Banner Travel Guide | 33 EASTERN SHORE
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