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Q: War of 1812 Battle of Snell's Bridge ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: War of 1812 Battle of Snell's Bridge
Category: Science > Social Sciences
Asked by: stbalbach-ga
List Price: $15.00
Posted: 28 Dec 2003 10:12 PST
Expires: 27 Jan 2004 10:12 PST
Question ID: 290886
I just bought a new house and according to my neighbor there was a
'War of 1812' battle neat my property at a place called "Snell's
Bridge". I am looking for information and history about this battle.
It is a bridge that crosses the Patuxent River in Maryland, ajoining
Howard and Montgomery counties. My neighbor thinks it was related to
the British moving west from Baltimore, MD to reach the town of
Brookeville, MD where the President had temporarily relocated the US
capital after Washington DC had been burned. The battle of Snell's
bridge is where the Americans turned the British back preventing them
from reaching Brookeville. More detailed information and confirmation
of this telling of events would be great.
Answer  
Subject: Re: War of 1812 Battle of Snell's Bridge
Answered By: scriptor-ga on 28 Dec 2003 11:49 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Dear stbalbach,

Unfortunately, the role of Snell's Bridge in the events of the War of
1812 is less dramatic then your neigbor suggests.

Snell's Bridge is indeed a recognized protected site of the War of
1812, but it has not seen a battle or even skirmishing between
American and British forces. Actually, the British were not present at
Snell's Bridge at all. But it is the place where the Americans camped
on their retreat to Baltimore after the burning of Washington.

Here is the chronology of events:

On 24 August 1814, British and American forces met in the battle of
Bladenburg. The Americans were defeated and fled in disarray; nothing
could stop the British from marching to Washington.
When President Madison was informed of the disastrous outcome of the
battle of Bladenburg, he decided to leave the capital northward, while
the most important documents (such as the Declaration of Independence)
were rushed to Virginia in carts.

During 24 and 25 August, the British burned Washington, while elements
of the disorganized American army under Brigadier General William
Winder moved northward to Baltimore, via Snell's Bridge and Ellicott
Mills (Ellicott City). This, however, was only one of many retreat
routes since the U.S. forces were in disarray.

General Winder's forces reached Snell's Bridge on 26 August and camped
there before moving on to Baltimore. At the same time, President
Madison stayed in Brookeville for two days (26 and 27 August), where
he met with his staff in a private house, thus making Brookeville
"capital for a day". Then, Madison departed from Brookville around
noon of 27 August and returned to Wahington.

Meanwhile, the British troops had boarded ships in the Patuxent and
sailed up the Chesapeake Bay; they did not follow the Americans on
land. The British troops were landed on 11 September at North Point,
the southernmost tip of the Patapsco Neck Peninsula, approximately 10
miles from Baltimore, their next destination. But the British advance
was finally stopped at the battle of Hampstead Heath on 13 September,
and their naval bombardment of Fort McHenry guarding Baltimore harbor
was unsuccessful, so the British had to withdraw to their ships at
North Point without reaching their objectives.


That is all about the role of Snell's Bridge in the "Chesapeake
Campaign" of the War of 1812. I hope, it is not too dissapointing for
you.

For detailed information on these events in Maryland during late
summer 1814, you might want to read this document by the National Park
Service, "Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail", including
many facts and maps (Acrobat Reader file):
http://www.nps.gov/phso/jstarspan/ssbt03draft.pdf


Search terms used:
"snell's bridge" british
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22snell%27s+bridge%22+british&btnG=Google+Suche&meta=
"snell's bridge" 1812
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22snell%27s+bridge%22+1812&meta=
brookeville 1814
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=brookeville+1814&meta=
1814 brookeville baltimore
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=1814+brookeville+baltimore&btnG=Google+Suche&meta=
brookeville 1814 madison
://www.google.de/search?q=brookeville+1814+madison&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=10&sa=N


Very best regards,
Scriptor
stbalbach-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Thank you scriptor the answer is complete plus puts it in context of
the events in Maryland that summer of 1814. I'm not so dissapointed as
I just heard about it today for the first time and am thrilled to have
history in my backyard (the site is protected and undisturbed by
development) but my neighbor has lived here 30 years he may be more
dissapointed to learn the details. Perhaps it may be best to let him
discover the truth on his own! Old fables are sometimes better. Thanks
again.

Comments  
Subject: Re: War of 1812 Battle of Snell's Bridge
From: kemlo-ga on 28 Dec 2003 16:56 PST
 
In another nine years it will be the two-hundreth year aniversary of
the cremation of the city of Washington.
What shall we do to celebrate?

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