To Annoy or Destroy the Enemy - The Battle of the White House after the Burning of Washington by Patrick L. O'Neill

The initial American response to the British invasion of Washington allowed the British to burn and destroy many of the public buildings. The Potomac Squadron arrived in Alexandria after the British land forces had returned to their ships. President Madison and members of his cabinet returned to Washington and made plans. Acting Secretary of War James Monroe (a Virginian) and Secretary of Navy William Jones devised a plan to send American forces down both sides of the Potomac to try and “annoy or destroy the enemy” while they were at Alexandria, using the crews of Captains David Porter and Oliver Hazard Perry on land, and Commodore Rodgers on the river. They would be assisted by militias from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Captain Porter was assisted by Brigadier General John P. Hungerford, commander of the Northern Neck Virginia militia, who had assembled almost 3,000 Virginia militia. Hungerford had already been following the squadron up the Potomac for two weeks, engaging them when possible. Together, they built the largest of the American positions above White House Landing on Belvoir Neck. The presence of such a large military force on the bluffs situated where the ships had to pass close to the shore below greatly intimidated the squadron. The squadron threw mortar shells at the batteries day and night, even rockets, for five days, making it one of the longest battles of the war. These are the same ships that lobbed the “bombs bursting in air” and fired the rockets with “red glare” at Fort McHenry two weeks later. Two attempted landings were also repelled. The Virginia militia fired back with some small field pieces, but their biggest weapons were their muskets and skill. Several militia units had special forces of riflemen, which greatly enhanced their ability to damage the ships and keep the British below deck. Three ship captains were wounded by musket fire. 68 slaves escaped to the British ships.