Amid rumors of a large British force on the Patuxent, Secretary of State James Monroe scouted the situation. From heights near Aquasco Mills on August 20, 1814, he spotted enemy vessels landing at Benedict. Alarmed, Monroe positioned soldiers on horseback about every 12 miles between Aquasco Mills and Washington to forward reports of enemy movements. He reported that he could see their ships from a distance of three miles, though without a glass he could not count them, and that the general idea was that Washington was their objective.