Kent Narrows in Queen Anne's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Crossing Point
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
| — | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | — |
Photographed by Shane Oliver, May 9, 2021
1. Crossing Point Marker
British soldiers approaching Queenstown by land August 13, 1813, had to negotiate a thin mile-long causeway through marshes at The Narrows. The only road connection between Kent Island and the Eastern Shore mainland was the crude hand-dug rutted wagon trail.
The night-time crossing would have been unpleasant for the 300 men marching in wool uniforms and heavy leather boots.
“This narrows…is skirted on both sides by extensive marshes…To approach the Island … you must traverse a narrow causeway upwards of a mile…across the marsh.”
Major William H. Nicholson, Maryland Militia, August 16, 1813
Two-Pronged Attack
Major Nicholson reported that his 214 soldiers and 100 cavalry could be facing 3,000 or more British. On August 13, his scouts brought “painful intelligence” of enemy forces arriving from Kent Narrows and from Queenstown Creek, threatening to trap the militia between the two.
(Inscription beside the image on the right)
Cavalry scouts from outposts on the main road reported the enemy’s approach. Trooper; Light Cavalry, Maryland Volunteer Militia, 1814, Watercolor by Herbert Knotel. Image/Courtesy Anne E.A.
this page online
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War of 1812. In addition, it is included in the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1813.
Location. 38° 58.13′ N, 76° 14.614′ W. Marker is in Kent Narrows, Maryland, in Queen Anne's County. It is on Main Street (Maryland Route 18) west of Kent Narrows Way South, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Grasonville MD 21638, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Eastern Shore. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, on the Delmarva Peninsula, in the Tidewater, in the Chesapeake Bay Region, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At
Photographed by Don Morfe, January 31, 2015
2. Crossing Point Marker
Other markers no longer nearby. Maryland's Eastern Shore (was approx. half a mile away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Byway Destinations (was approx. half a mile away but has been confirmed missing); a different marker also named Byway Destinations (was approx. half a mile away but has been confirmed missing); Chesapeake Country National Scenic Byway (was approx. half a mile away but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Don Morfe, January 31, 2015
3. Close up of the map on the Crossing Point Marker
1813 map by Dennis Griffiths shows the road across Kent Island and The Narrows to Queenstown.
Photographed by Don Morfe, January 31, 2015
4. Crossing Point Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 14, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 672 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 18, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 14, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
