Road to Battle

Road to Battle. Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. , About 300 British soldiers approached Queenstown by road on August 13, 1813. Their part in a two-pronged attack involved a steamy march across Kent Island and The Narrows, towing two field cannon. The nighttime march was interrupted near dawn by a skirmish with Americans at a rise in the road known as Slippery Hill. The British continued on to Queenstown, but the American militia had escaped to Centreville., “At 10 minutes before 3 o’clock of the 13th I was aroused by the quick approach of horsemen…with the intelligence that the enemy was approaching in great force on the main road from Kent Narrows to Queen’s Town.” , Major William H. Nicholson, Maryland Militia, August 16, 1813. , Reconnaissance , According to a British officer’s report, the day before the march a Captain Robertson “got acquainted with the road.” He gathered the information while protected by a flag of truce. , [Caption:] , An encounter with American picket guards at Slippery Hill effectively ended the British attack on Queenstown.