Captain Peter Parker arrived at Swan Creek in the HMS Menelaus on August 20, 1814, with a special mission to divert attention from a British strike against the U.S. Capital. Although the British had terrorized towns in the Upper Bay all summer, Parker raided Rock Hall while the main British force began its march to Washington from Southern Maryland. Parker’s squadron was still anchored off Rock Hall on August 25 when the fierce storm that doused the smoldering Capitol Building and White House swept across the Bay, and the British lost a supply of weapons when the vessel Mary capsized at Swan Point.