At the start of the War of 1812, the country was divided in its support. This sentiment was especially strong in Baltimore, then a boomtown with a large population of recent French, Irish, and German immigrants who especially despised Britain. In the summer of 1812, several riots took place in the City due to the editorials in the anti-war Federal Republican newspaper. During the second riot, a mob destroyed the newspaper's office and attacked the Federalists defending the organization. One Federalist who was brutally attacked was Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, a cavalry officer during the Revolution and father to Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Starting in March 1813, a squadron under British Rear Admiral George Cockburn blockaded the Chesapeake Bay. Cockburn's frigates attacked towns and villages of the Upper Chesapeake including Elkton, Frenchtown, Havre de Grace, Georgetown, Fredericktown, and the Principio Works Foundry.
Learn more about the British raids in 1813:
Plummer, Norman H. "Another Look at the Battle of St. Michaels," The Weather Gauge (Magazine of Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum) XXXI:1 (Spring 1995), pp. 10-17.
Taylor, Blaine. "Burn the Blighters Out!," Sea Classics, Nov. 2009, pp 34-41.
Taylor, Blaine. “Royal Navy Ran Rampant,” Sea Classics, Dec. 2009, pp 60-67.
Burning of Havre de Grace, Maryland. Maryland Historical Society
The Chesapeake Bay Region
Assault on Washington DC
Battle of Baltimore
Significance of the Chesapeake Campaign