Transport ships carrying a British invasion force arrived in Old Road Bay on September 11, 1814. Before dawn the next day, troops were ferried to this landing site to begin the 15-mile march to Baltimore. Reinforced by navy warships, they expected easy victory, but losses at the Battle of North Point, including Major General Robert Ross, the navy’s failure to take Fort McHenry, and superior American defenses outside Baltimore caused the British army to withdraw to their waiting ships at North Point on September 15. Old Road Bay was a protected deep-water anchorage off North Point, large enough to accommodate transport ships, close to a good landing place for troop deployment, and within support distance of other Royal Navy vessels.