Welcome to War of 1812 tidewater country. Here, in the waters and on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, Americans fought to preserve their recently won independence from the British. Detailing sites from Maryland to Virginia to the District of Columbia, this portable guidebook points readers to the war’s most important battlefields and historic places. The book is organized into eighteen tours. Five Historic Route Tours guide enthusiasts down the same roads and past the same buildings that proved critical in the struggle. Thirteen Historic City, Town, and Regional Tours feature key sites in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Visitors can pick a tour and follow the President and First Lady as they fled Washington, D.C., or British troops as they landed at North Point, or the Declaration of Independence as patriots saved it from the invaders. The tours are organized geographically to make trip planning easy. All are accessible by car or on foot; bike and water excursions are also suggested where appropriate. Each tour includes a brief history and information every visitor will need to know, such as the address, phone number, website, parking availability, days and hours of operation, and entrance fees. The guide is richly illustrated throughout, showing many structures that no longer exist and numerous historic sites not visible from public roads. Detailed maps direct visitors to each site. Tourists can step back in time as they travel the same roads and waterways that American and British troops did two centuries ago.

The War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain was fought throughout nearly all of the country, from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the vast frontier between the U.S. and Canada. No theater of war suffered more than the Chesapeake Bay region, where 11 battles—including Craney Island, Hampton, Bladensburg, and Baltimore—63 skirmishes, and 86 raids took place. Featuring a comprehensive list of more than 800 of the war’s historical sites in the region, this book is an indispensable reference to the second great war for independence. One chapter each covers Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The authors draw on both American and British accounts in describing battlefields and the locations of skirmishes. The book includes historic maps and drawings, descriptive overview essays, the most complete chronology of the War in the Chesapeake ever assembled, and a thorough bibliographic essay. Supported by such primary documents as diaries, journals, and newspaper articles, the material compiled in this encyclopedia surpasses any collection thus far brought together on the subject. Local librarians, historians, tour guides, history buffs, school teachers, and genealogists will find this guide to be informative and enlightening.

All but forgotten by Americans, the War of 1812 (1812–1815) was a dramatic watershed for the young, groundbreaking United States Republic. Ill-prepared to fight the powerful English nation, the U.S. struggled through three years of conflict but emerged more unified with new patriotic symbols like the "Star-Spangled Banner." Much of the fighting occurred in the Chesapeake region and this new book, In Full Glory Reflected, uncovers its gripping stories of devastating raids, heroic defense, gallant privateers, fugitive slaves, and threatened lands. The historic tales unfold with a lively narrative, well over a hundred vivid illustrations, and clear maps to follow the action. In addition, a travel section provides a rich guide for adventurers who want to step back 200 years and explore the tidewater world where the war was fought. In Full Glory Reflected is an enchanting invitation to travel the Star- Spangled Banner National Historic Trail and discover the amazing world of our ancestors.

"Adventures along the Star-Spangled Trail."

In the two hundred years following the War of 1812, the Chesapeake Campaign became romanticized in tall tales and local legends. St. Michael's on the Eastern Shore of Maryland was famously cast as the town that fooled the British, and in Baltimore, the defenders of Fort McHenry were reputably rallied by a remarkably patriotic pet rooster. In Virginia, the only casualty in a raid on Cape Henry was reportedly the lighthouse keeper's smokehouse larder, while Admiral Cockburn was said to have supped by the light of the burning Federal buildings in Washington, D.C. Newspaper stories, ordinary citizens and even military personnel embellished events, and two hundred years later, those embellishments have become regional lore. Join historians Ralph E. Eshelman and Scott S. Sheads as they search for the history behind the legends of the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake.

Presents illustration and maps of the historic sites and battlegrounds of the War of 1812, covering the events that occurred at each site and a description of the current structures and attractions that can still be seen.

The War of 1812 was never the most popular of conflicts on both sides of the Atlantic. Bogged down by their involvement in the Napoleonic conflict in Europe, the British largely relied on the power of the Royal Navy in the early years of the war. Part of this naval strategy was to blockade the American coastline in order to strangle American commerce and bring the new nation to its knees. Nowhere was this blockade more important than in the Chesapeake. Partly in response to the sacking of York (modern Toronto), the British decided to strike at the nation's capital, Washington, DC, and a force of Peninsular War veterans under General Robert Ross landed, defeated the Americans at the battle of Bladensburg and took Washington on August 24, 1814. Buoyed by this success, the British pressed on towards Baltimore. However, they were forced to withdraw at the battle of North Point, and a naval bombardment of Fort McHenry failed to reduce the fort and Baltimore was spared. With his intimate knowledge of the events in this theatre of war, Scott Sheads of Fort McHenry NPS brings these dramatic events of American history to life.