Outnumbered

On October 27, 1814, when 250-300 British troops crossed from Tilghman Island to Town Point, they easily overcame five local militiamen manning a nine-pound cannon. They burned three buildings and a windmill, then moved up Herring Creek and overpowered militia defending the Tracey’s Landing Warehouse. The raiders torched the warehouse and a home, raided gardens, took slaves, and reveled in a church. Sabret Trott later learned that the enemy had landed and plundered his family of everything, leaving them in great distress and not even leaving a fowl or a vegetable. Although the Chesapeake Flotilla had briefly stored ammunition at Tracey’s Landing Warehouse, property owners who later sought compensation failed to prove to Congress that the warehouse had been targeted because of U.S. military usage, and James Tongue unsuccessfully sought reparation for the loss of his warehouse.

Deale, Maryland · United States