On 12 September 1814, the City Brigade of Baltimore tried to impede the advance of a 4,000-man British Army (same troops that had routed an American Army of 7,000 at Bladensburg and burned part of Washington DC in August). In more than two hours of fighting, the Maryland militia inflicted 300 casualties on the enemy. One of those killed was the British commander, Major Gereral Robert Ross. In the words of Walter Lord, the militia defenders of Baltinore in 1814 wore the "..usual mixture of dashing uniforms and civilian dress." The diversity of their clothing is shown in a painting by Thomas C. Ruckle (reproduced in Walsh & Fox, eds., Maryland: A. History). entitled "Marshalling of the troops for the defense of Baltimore, September 12-13, 1914." The subjects of Ruckle's Dicture are cavalry, infantry, and artillerymen wearing a variety of headgear, including shakos, bicorns and round hats. Since the reproduction is in black and uhite, nothing definite can be said about the color of the uniforms portrayed--except that most of them are dark, perhaps blue. Fortunately, the uniforms of at least two units ef the "City Brigade" have been described by other authors. According to John K. Mahon, the men of Sterett's 5th Maryland wore "...blue jackets faced with red, white pantaloons, black gaiters, white cross-belts, and heavy leather helmets shakos topped with two sweeping plumes, one red and one black." The "Maryland Rifle Volunteer" shown by Windrow and Embleton is dressed in a green hunting shirt with red fringes and a black "Light Artillery" shako. In addition to these "dashing uniforms," there were probably other spots of color in the "City Brigade" the flags of the battalions and even of individual companies. Neil H. Swanson, for example, describes two flags belonging to the 27th Maryland. One, the old flag of the Maryland Continentals, had a field of red and white stripes and a blue canton charged with twelve stars in a circle and a thirteenth in the center. The other was a "bright blue flag with a gold device and a Latin motto in gold": NON SIBI SED PATRIA ("Not self, but country"). Wargamers interested in the War of 1812 are encouraged to add the "City Brigade" of Baltimore to their armies. Perhaps a study of older local histories or a close look at Ruckle's painting -- apparently in the possession of the Maryland Historical Society -- would uncover more information about the uniforms and flags of these units. In any case, the author believes his reader will find few American formations of comparable size as colorful and well-balanced as this militia brigade. Order of Battle The City Brigade of Baltimore [1] Brig. Gen. John Stricker, commanding [2] Sunday, 11 September 1814, 3 p.m. [3] Horse 1st Maryland Cavalry--Lieut. Col. James Bisys--140 men. [4] Foot 5th Maryland Infantry -- Lt. Col Joseph Sterett--550 men [5] 6th Maryland Infantry--Lleut. Col. William McDonald---620 men. 27th Maryland Infantry--Lieut. Col. Kennedy -- 500 men [6] 39th Maryland Infantry--Lieut. Col. Benjamin Fowler--450 men. 51st Maryland Infantry--Lieut. Col. Henry Amey--700 men. [7] Rifle Battalion -- Capt. William Dyer [8] -- 150 men [9] Guns Union Artillery--Capt. John Montgomery-75 men, with six four-pounders. Total 3,185 men [10] NOTES [1] Swanson, The Perilous Fight, P. 300. Also identified as the "3rd Brigade" (of Maryland militia presumably) by Lord, The Dawn's Early Light, P. 191. [2] Stricker was a 55-year-old veteran of the Revolutionary War (Muller, The Darkest Day:_1814, p. 222). As an artillery officer, he had fought at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and in Sullivan's campaign against the Indians (Swanson, p. 297). [3] According to Svanson, P. 300, this is the day, date and time that Stricker's brigade left Baltimore for North Point. [4] Four troops: Maryland Chasseurs, Fell's Point Light Dragoons, Independent Light Dragoons and 1st Baltimore Hussars (Swanson, pg. 315). [5] Nine companies: 1st Baltimore Light Infantry, Mechanical Volunteers, Washington Blues, Baltimore Jeagers, Independent Company, Baltimore United Volunteers, Baltimore Patriots, Union Volunteers and Independent Blues (Swanson, p. 110). [6] Also called the "Jefferson Blues" (Swanson, P. 302). [7] The 51st Maryland was a "precinct" regiment of "drafted" militia, raised in the "thinly settled suburbs" of Baltimore (Swanson, P. 329). [8] Vice Maj. William Pinkney, wounded at Bladensburg, 24 August 1814 (Swanson, p. 315) [9] Three companies: Union Jagers-1st Lieut. Gregorius Andre; vice Capt. Dominic Fader, captured at Bladensburg; Sharp Shooters Capt. Edward Aisquith; Fell's Point Riflemen---1st Lieut. Peter Fot, vice Capt. Dyer (Swanson, P. 315). [10] All troop strengths have been taken from Dawson, Battles of the United States II, 391, 395, who cites "Gen. Stricker to Gen. Smith Sept. 15," as his authority. SOURCES Dawson, Henry B. Battles of the United States by Sea and Land. 2 vols. New York, no date. Lord, Walter. The Dawn's-aqrly Light. Paperback. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1972. Mahon, John K. The War of 1812. Gainesville, Fla., 1972. Miller, Charles G. Te Darkest Day: 1814. Paperback. New York: Curtis Docks, Swanson, Neil H. The Perilous Fight, New York & Toronto 19L5. Walsh, Richard, & William L. Fox, eds. Maryland: A History, 1632- 1974. Baltimore, Md. Windrow Martin, & Gerry Embleton. Military Dress of North America, 1665-1970. London, 1973. Senior Editor's Notes The unit that Mr. Martinsen described above, composed mainly of untrained, or at the very least, partially trained militia fought at the Battle of North Point illustrated on the Park Folder from Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. Whenever possible, future issues of the Journal will include as an extra feature of the Historical Research Committee -- a complimentary folder on sites related to an article contained in with a issue. More info regarding the "CITY BRIGADE" or "FORT MCHENRY" can be obtained by writing to the Superintendent, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21230. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 26 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1978 by Jean Lochet This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com