The Battle of St. Michaels was a battle during the War of 1812. Similar to the battle of Craney Island a month earlier American militia units were able to repulse a British landing attempt in the Chesapeake Bay

Background

After the British defeat at the battle of Craney Island and the failure to capture Norfolk, Admiral George Cockburn moved up the Chesapeake Bay. The shipyards at the small town of St. Michaels, Maryland became an inviting target. In early August the British navy approached and General Derry Benson called out the Talbot County Militia. Benson also had several artillery pieces for the defense; one battery was placed at the harbor and another was placed in front of the town.

The Battle

After midnight on August 10th the militia units manning the harbor battery spotted the British landing party. The British quickly landed and fired on the battery. As soon as the British opened fire the militia units fled. Only Captain William Dodson (commanding the battery) and one other man remained. They were able to get off one shot before they were forced to abandon the gun. The British were now advancing on the town. Benson's battery guarding the town was able to hold off the attack and the British retreated. The naval guns had proved ineffective against the town because the townspeople had dimmed the lights in their homes and hang lanters in trees beyond the town, causing the British gunners to overshoot the town and its defenses.

Results

Like the battle of Craney Island, American militia units had won a decisive victory without a single casualty. The British lost 29 killed, wounded and missing. The battle had been small but it saved the shipyards from falling to the British. Admiral Cockburn next landed a sizeable army in Maryland that would eventually capture Washington.

Sources

• Heidler, David; Heidler, Jeanne, editors Encyclopedia of the War of 1812