Under Attack

The British under Rear Admiral George Cockburn attacked Havre de Grace on May 3, 1813. They went from house to house, burning and confiscating belongings along the way. Beds were ripped apart, and furniture and clothing were ruined. Daniel Mallory recalled that the hills were covered with flying, frightened, and half-dressed people, with the flames and smoke of the burning village behind them forming dark thin clouds. The destruction of Havre de Grace during the War of 1812 became enduringly associated with British plundering and burning, and in a well-known image of the attack Mrs. Sears' tavern appears burning at the left while Cockburn stands in the middle with a sword.

Havre de Grace, Maryland · United States