dea of their destructiveness may
be derived from the fact, that one of them, fired at long range,
exploded and set fire to a boat, after having first passed through the
body of one of her crew. Barney had no rockets; and, as the combat at
long range was telling upon his men, he at once dashed forward into
the midst of the enemy. Soon the barges were engaged in desperate
hand-to-hand conflicts. The sailors, grappling with their adversary's
craft, fought with pistol and cutlass across the gunwales. Barney, in
a small barge with twenty men, dashed about, now striking a blow in
aid of some overmatched American boat, then cheering on some laggard,
or applauding some deed of gallantry that occurred in his sight. Major
William Barney, son of the commodore, saw an American barge on fire,
and deserted by her crew who feared the explosion of her magazine.
Running his boat alongside, he jumped into the flaming craft; and by
dint of bailing in water, and rocking her from side to side, he
succeeded in saving the barge. For more than an hour the action raged,
both sides fighting with great vigor and gallantry; but the Americans
having pierced the British line, the enemy, falling into confusion,
turned, and strained every muscle to gain the protection of their
ship's guns. The Americans followed in hot pursuit; but their
course was abruptly checked at the mouth of the creek by a British
schooner, whose eighteen guns commanded respect. For a moment the
pursuing barges fell back; then, choosing advantageous positions, they
opened fire upon the schooner with such effect that she soon turned to
escape. She succeeded in getting under the protecting guns of the
frigate and sloop-of-war, but was so cut to pieces in the short action
that she was run aground and abandoned. The larger vessels now opened
fire upon Barney's forces; and the flotilla, after a few shots of
defiance, returned to its quarters up the creek.

[Illustration: The Battle of the Barges.]

For the next two weeks all was quiet along the shores of the Patuxent
and St. Leonard's Creek. The enemy had learned wisdom from their late
defeat, and contented themselves with blockading the mouth of the
creek, and leaving Barney undisturbed in his retreat. But the doughty
commodore had no idea of being thus confined, and during the time of
quiet made preparations for an attempt to break the blockade. Land
forces from Washington were sent down to aid in this attempt; and two
pieces of