The shores of the Patuxent River bear evidence of human habitation dating back more than 8,000 years. Along the river many Indian tribes practiced primitive farming, pottery making, and hunting with bow and arrow. New World colonists brought bustling trade to the river, and port towns developed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The Patuxent was crucial to both Americans and British in the War of 1812. Commodore Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Bay Flotilla was trapped near Upper Marlboro in August 1814 and scuttled to avoid capture by the British. In the early 1900s, steamboats replaced sailing ships, ferrying passengers, goods, and tobacco between the dozens of wharves and Baltimore. By the early 20th century, sedimentation and the decline of shipping due to competition from truck and rail transportation marked the end of commerce on the river. Today, people primarily use the river for drinking water supply, recreation, and discharge of treated sewage, creating the continuing task of balancing human use and enjoyment of the river with protection of the resource.