Bladensburg, battle of

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Bladensburg, battle of, 1814. The defeat of Napoleon in 1814 allowed Britain to take the offensive in the War of 1812 against the USA. A force of 4,000 men, under General Robert Ross, some of them peninsular veterans, was landed at Chesapeake Bay. A militia force at Bladensburg on 24 August was brushed aside and the British entered Washington, burning the White House in retaliation for the American sack of Toronto in 1813.

J. A. Cannon

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