Major General Robert Ross had been dispatched to Chesapeake Bay with a brigade of veterans from the Duke of Wellington's army early in 1814, reinforced with a battalion ofDistrict of Columbia militia at the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24,1814, and burned Washington.
Major General Robert Ross had been dispatched to Chesapeake Bay with a brigade of veterans from the Duke of Wellington's army early in 1814, reinforced with a battalion of Royal Marines. He had defeated a hastily-assembled force of Maryland and District of Columbia militia at the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24,1814, and burned Washington.