d, upon reaching
Marlborough, found that Commodore Barney, acting under the orders of the
secretary of war, had burned his fleet and hurried to Washington. The
English commander arrived in sight of Washington on the 24th of August.
His approach to Bladensburg was over a bridge defended by artillery from
Barney's flotilla, which were handled by Barney and his sailors. They
fought with the utmost heroism, repelling the British again and again;
but the militia fled, and, when Barney was wounded and his command
helpless, he surrendered. General Ross complimented him for his bravery
and immediately paroled him.

This was the only check encountered by the British in their advance upon
Washington. General Winder had learned enough of his militia to know
that no dependence could be placed upon them, and he fled to Georgetown.
The President, heads of departments, and most of the citizens joined in
the stampede, and the advance guard of General Ross entered the city
that evening.

[Illustration: BURNING OF WASHINGTON.]

The British commander offered to spare the city for a large sum of
money, but no one was within reach with authority to comply with his
demand. Ross claimed that his flag of truce had been fired on, and he
ordered the city to be burned. In the conflagration that followed, the
President's house, the department offices, numerous private dwellings,
the libraries and public archives, many works of art in the public
buildings, the navy yard and its contents, a frigate on the stocks, and
several small vessels were destroyed. The patent office and jail were
the only public property spared. The burning of Washington was an
outrage which was generally condemned in England.

After a rest and the reception of reinforcements, Ross marched against
Baltimore, which he declared should be his winter quarters. While on the
road he was mortally wounded by an American sharpshooter in a tree. Such
a brave defense was made by Forts McHenry and Covington, guarding the
narrow passage from the Patapsco into the harbor of Baltimore, that the
British fleet and the land forces were repelled. The success of this
defense inspired Francis S. Key to write our famous national song, _The
Star-Spangled Banner_.

THE HARTFORD CONVENTION.

The war became intensely unpopular in New England. Its shipping suffered
severely, and the demands for peace grew more clamorous. On the 15th of
December, 1814, a convention of delegates, appointed by the