From August 19-30, 1814, British ships anchored off Benedict during their invasion of Washington, D.C. On August 20, about three miles away at Aquasco Mills, Secretary of State James Monroe watched as British sailors rowed field cannons, provisions, and more than 4,000 troops ashore. Benedict's townspeople had already deserted the town after earlier raids: on June 15, 160 British and 30 Colonial Marines, former slaves, plundered it, and on June 21 local militia drove back another raiding party. As the fleet moved upriver, few residents remained to watch where it would land, while Rear Adm. George Cockburn had already written that Benedict was only 44 or 45 miles from Washington and connected by a good road, making the city vulnerable soon after arrival in the Patuxent.