Bitter End Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail - Lothian, MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 38° 48.684 W 076° 42.636
18S E 351478 N 4297237
Joshua Barney’s Chesapeake Flotilla was trapped in the shallows just upriver from here. With orders to keep his boats out of enemy hands, Barney reluctantly ordered his men to destroy the flotilla when the British approached.
Waymark Code: WM16MX9
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 08/30/2022
Views: 1
Bitter End Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail-War 1812
Joshua Barney’s Chesapeake Flotilla was trapped in the shallows just upriver from here. With orders to keep his boats out of enemy hands, Barney reluctantly ordered his men to destroy the flotilla when the British approached. They laid trains of gunpowder to explosives aboard each barge. As the British rounded Pig Point south of here on August 22, 1814, the Americans touched off the first fuse.
"Should (the British) advance upon you with an overwhelming force, you will effectually destroy the flotilla by fire.”
Secretary of Navy William Jones to Joshua Barney, August 12, 1814.
Diving into History
The remains of the approximately 16 flotilla barges were lost to time, sediment, and the shifting river. Underwater archeological research, begun in 1978, uncovered the wreckage of one vessel, possibly the flagship Scorpion.
(Inscription beside the photo on the right)
Divers excavate an 1812 vessel believed to be the flagship of the Chesapeake Flotilla.
Group that erected the marker: National Park Service
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
1570 Marlboro Road
In Patuxent Wetlands Park
Lothian , MD United States
20711
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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