A little background of the Royal Marine Artillery in North America during the War of 1812:
The Royal Marines organized and deployed three battalions for service in North America during the War of 1812. Each battalion was composed of six infantry companies, an artillery company and a half-company of rockets. Each Royal Marine artillery company was composed of five officers, 8 NCOs, 2 drummers, 6 bombardiers, and 60 gunners. The rocket half-company was composed of 1 officer, 4 NCOs, and 20 gunners. Royal Marine artillerymen also served aboard ship manning the rockets on the rocket ship HMS Erebus as well as on the five bomb vessels serving against the Americans manning the 10- and 13-inch mortars aboard the bomb vessels. The rocket detachment aboard HMS Erebus was a half-company of artillerymen.
The First and Second Battalion served in the Chesapeake and in Canada, most notably in the attack on Oswego on 5 May 1814. After Oswego, the two battalions were broken up into detachments and assigned to the Royal Navy lake flotillas. While the artillery companies were supposed to be assigned to various fortifications. They fought at Plattsburg on 11 September 1814, and on the Niagara in the summer of 1814 at both the battles of Chippawa and Lundy's Lane and a detachment of Royal Marine artillery participated in the unsuccessful siege of Fort Erie.
The Third Marine Battalion arrived in the Chesapeake in July 1814 and participated in the raids along the coast and participated in the British victory at Bladensburg as well as in the American delaying action at North Point outside of Baltimore. Royal Marine artillerymen were aboard the five bomb vessels previously mentioned and the rocket ship HMS Erebus for the bombardment of Fort McHenry in September 1814.
After the British failure at Baltimore, all of the Royal Marine units went south to operate on the Georgia coast with the exception Lieutenant Lawrence's rocket detachment that was assigned to the invasion force destined for New Orleans. The detachment would be attached to the British attacking force on the west bank of the Mississippi during the main action of the campaign on 8 January 1815.
The Royal Marine artillery detachments would also see action after New Orleans in the siege and capture of Fort Bowyer at Mobile Bay and along the south Georgia coast.