The Washington Blues were a company of Maryland Volunteers which saw action during the

Battle of Bladensburg The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814 at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C. Called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms," a British for ...

and the

Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although the Americans retreated, they were able to do so in good order having inf ...

, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

History

When war broke out between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, George H. Steuart (then Captain Steuart) raised a company of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

volunteers, known as the Washington Blues, part of the

5th Maryland Regiment The 5th Maryland Regiment is a designation which has been held by several units over the years, not all of which necessarily share the same lineage and honors. Although the first unit to carry the "5th Maryland" designation was organized in 1776 ...

commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Sterett. They saw action at the

Battle of Bladensberg The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814 at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C. Called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms," a British force ...

(August 24, 1814), where the Americans, including the 5th Regiment, were routed by the British. Although the 5th had "evinced a disposition to make a gallant resistance", it was flanked by the redcoats and forced to retreat in some disorder. After the battle, British forces entered Washington, D.C. and burned several government buildings. Steuart's company fought better at the

(September 12, 1814),The Huntingdon Library Quarterly, Volume 12 (1949).
Retrieved Jan 13 2010 where the militia were able to hold the line for several hours before making a fighting retreat, and where Steuart was wounded. Some of the militia regiments, such as the 51st, and some members of 39th, broke and ran under fire, but the 5th and 27th held their ground and were able to retreat in reasonably good order having inflicted significant casualties on the advancing enemy.George, p.143 Corporal John McHenry of the 5th Regiment wrote an account of the battle:

Our Regiment, the 5th, carried off the praise from the other regiments engaged, so did the company to which I have the honor to belong cover itself with glory. When compared to the therRegiments we were the last that left the ground...had our Regiment not retreated at the time it did we should have been cut off in two minutes.George, p.143

Notable members

* Corporal Thomas Ruckle was among those who volunteered for the Washington Blues. Ruckle was a sign painter and glazier, and also an amateur painter. Ruckle's paintings ''The Battle of North Point'', and ''The Defense of Baltimore'' were painted shortly after the events they describe, and are now in the collection of the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...

. * Captain George H. Steuart would later become Major General of the Maryland Militia, and its senior commander. From 1841 to 1861 he was Commander of the First Light Division, Maryland Volunteer Militia. On April 19, 1861, during the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

was disrupted by riots, during which Southern sympathizers attacked Union troops passing through the city by rail. Steuart himself was strongly sympathetic to the Confederacy and, perhaps knowing this, Governor Hicks did not call out the militia to suppress the riots. On May 13, 1861 Union troops occupied the state, restoring order and preventing a vote in favor of Southern secession. Steuart moved south for the duration of the Civil War, and much of the general's property was confiscated by the Federal Government as a consequence. However, many members of the newly formed Maryland Line in the Confederate army would be drawn from Steuart's militia.Goldsborough, p.9

References

* George, Christopher T ''Terror on the Chesapeake, The War of 1812 on the Bay'', White Mane Books (2000). * Nelker, Gladys P., ''The Clan Steuart'', Genealogical Publishing (1970). * Richardson. Hester Dorey, ''Side-Lights on Maryland History: With Sketches of Early Maryland Families'', Tidewater Publishing, 1967. ASIN: B00146BDXW, , . * Steuart, William Calvert, Article in ''Sunday Sun Magazine'', "The Steuart Hill Area's Colorful Past", Baltimore, February 10, 1963. * White, Roger B, Article in ''The Maryland Gazette'', "Steuart, Only Anne Arundel Rebel General", November 13, 1969.

Notes

{{reflist, 2

External links

Account of the role of the Maryland Militia at the Battle of North Point, at National Guard website
Retrieved on Jan 11 2010
Excerpt from ''Old Kent: The Eastern Shore of Maryland: Notes Illustrative of the Most Ancient Records Of Kent County, Maryland'' (1876) by George Adolphus Hanson
Retrieved on Jan 11 2010
Brief reference to Steuart in ''The War of 1812'' By Donald R. Hickey
Retrieved Jan 11 2010
The Huntingdon Library Quarterly, Volume 12 (1949).
Retrieved Jan 13 2010
''The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815'' by William Matthew Marine
Retrieved Jan 14 2010
''Register of the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States'', National Commandery (1900)
Retrieved Jan 14 2010
Hickman, Nathaniel, p.100, ''The citizen soldiers at North Point and Fort McHenry, September 12 & 13 1814'', published by James Young,(1889)
Retrieved Jan 14 2010
''Extra Globe'' dated Wednesday October 7 1835
Retrieved Jan 15 2010
''History of the Late War between the United States and Great Britain'' By Henry Marie Brackenridge, p.249, Philadelphia (1836).
Retrieved Jan 15 2010 Maryland militia 1814 in Maryland War of 1812 History of Maryland Maryland in the War of 1812