Lt. Col. George Armistead (1780-1818) / The War of 1812

Lt. Col. George Armistead (1780-1818), also, The War of 18 12. . , Lt. Col. George Armistead (1780-1818). Known for his service in the War of 18 12, George Armistead was born here at Newmarket plantation. Armistead distinguished himself in 1813 during the capture of Fort George, Canada, but is best known as the commanding officer of Fort McHenry during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore, for which he earned the rank of lieutenant colonel. The American victory proved a turning point in the war, and was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s poem “The Star Spangled Banner.” Armistead commanded at Fort McHenry until his death in Baltimore in 1818. He is buried there in Old St. Paul’s Cemetery., The War of 18 12. Impressment of Americans into British service and the violation of American ships were among the causes of America’s War of 18 12 with the British, which lasted until 1815. Beginning in 1813, Virginians suffered from a British naval blockade of the Chesapeake Bay and from British troops plundering the countryside by the Bay and along the James, Rappahannock, and Potomac Rivers. The Virginia militia deflected a British attempt to take Norfolk in 1813 and engaged British forces throughout the war. By the end of the war, more than 2,000 enslaved African Americans in Virginia had gained their freedom aboard British ships.