A few Months Before Star Spangled Banner,Maryland Governor Urges Captain to "annoy" British Forces and Prevent "depradations"

From Annapolis, Maryland Governor Levin Winder urged Captain Jacob Franklin to oppose the British forces on the Patuxent River. This letter was written two months before the British pushed up the Patuxent in force, defeated the Americans at Bladensburg and entered and burned many public buildings in the national capital of Washington.

[WAR OF 1812.] Levin Winder, Autograph Letter Signed, to Jacob Franklin, June 17, 1814, Annapolis, Maryland. 1 p., 7.875" x 9.75". Small tears on folds; general toning; very good.

Complete Transcript
Annapolis June 17th 1814
Sir
I am just informed the enemy are high up in the Patuxent. I presume you will have heard of it before this comes to hand, and that you will have called out your company and march them to such point as you may think most proper for annoying the enemy and preventing their depradations.
I am &c
Lev Winder
Captn Jacob Franklin

Historical Background
Although the British had declared a blockade of the American coast early in the War of 1812, most of the first two years of fighting took place along the American-Canadian border. In mid-1814, the British shifted their attention southward and sent an expeditionary force into the Chesapeake Bay.

Led by Major General Robert Ross (1766-1814) and Admiral Alexander Cochrane (1758-1832), the British moved up the Patuxent River and landed at Benedict on August 19, 1814. They began marching upstream the following day, reaching Nottingham on August 21, and forcing American defenders to destroy the gunboats of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla on August 22. Ross proceeded up the Patuxent to Upper Marlboro, from which he could threaten either Washington or Baltimore.

On August 24, 1814, the British force of 1,500 army regulars and Royal Marines faced a combined force of nearly 7,000 Regular Army and state militia troops at Bladensburg, Maryland. The British routed the American defenders, clearing the way to the capital, only eight miles away. Later that day, the British entered Washington, D.C. and burned most government buildings to the ground, including the Executive Mansion and the Capitol. (Fortunately, President James Madison had heeded James Monroe's advice; at the last minute, clerks at the State Department stuffed the records of the Confederation and Continental Congresses, George Washington's papers as Commander of the Continental Army, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution into coarse linen sacks and carted them to Virginia, out of harm's way.) Although Rear Admiral George Cockburn (1772-1853) wanted to burn the entire city of Washington, Major General Ross refused and prohibited his soldiers from destroying private property. A few days later, Alexandria, Virginia, a major port on the Potomac River, surrendered without a fight.

The British forces left Washington and sailed up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they attempted a combined assault with army troops landing at North Point and a naval force proceeding up the Patapsco River. The Americans met them with well-organized resistance and strong fortifications. A sniper killed General Ross early in the engagement, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor was a failure. The British retreated, providing the Americans with a victory and a powerful boost to morale after the destruction of Washington.

Levin Winder (1757-1819) was born in Maryland and prepared to practice law, but the outbreak of the Revolutionary War prevented him. He joined the army, and the Convention of Maryland appointed him a first lieutenant in the Maryland Line in January 1776. By the time he was discharged in 1783, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Returning home, he became a planter on the Eastern Shore near Princess Anne. In 1794, he became a major general in the militia, and he led the militia to western Maryland during the Whiskey Rebellion. In 1806, he was elected as a Federalist to the House of Delegates, where he served three terms. In the 1808 session, he was elected Speaker of the House. An opponent of the War of 1812, Winder was elected governor in November 1812 and served until January 1816. When it became apparent that the federal government would not protect Maryland from British depredations, he called the militia into active service, distributed weapons, and called the legislature into special session in May 1813. The legislature authorized the calling out of the militia for the defense of Baltimore and the payment of its expenses.

Jacob Franklin (1779-1816) was born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. He was the captain of a company in the 2nd Maryland militia regiment during the War of 1812. He was a candidate for the General Assembly in the fall of 1816.

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