"War of 1812: Big Night in Baltimore" Topic

"Major General Samuel Smith was resolute. Two mistakes made in Washington would not be repeated in his city. First, as commander of Baltimore's militia, he would put in place an effective defense. Second, having been given the job by Baltimore's Committee of Vigilance and Safety, he would not under any circumstances relinquish that command—especially to the man in charge of the 10th Military District. Brig. Gen. William Winder was now a two-time loser, with his failure to defend the capital added to his earlier Canadian surrender at Stoney Creek. As a U.S. senator, a veteran of the Revolution (he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel) and a Marylander, Smith intended to make sure the British did not capture Baltimore on his watch.

The intervention of Secretary of War James Monroe had been required to quiet the outraged Winder, but since taking full command of the city defenses on August 26, Smith had worked to put Baltimore's strategic advantages to good use. The burgeoning metropolis had grown into the nation's third-largest city after New York and Philadelphia. As a center for shipbuilding, a hub for trade and home to many mills, Baltimore prospered even in the face of embargoes and the war. Its seafaring population had adapted to life during wartime, and the city's privateers seized more than 500 British ships, leading British Admiral Sir George Cockburn to describe the city as a "nest of pirates."…"
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