— Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail —
Barney Circle honors U.S. Navy Commodore Joshua Barney. In August 1814, Barney, his Chesapeake Flotillamen, and a contingent of U.S. Marines guarded a bridge over the Eastern Branch (Anacostia River) on today's Bladensburg Road, NE. When it became clear that the British were advancing on Bladensburg, Barney pleaded with the secretary of the Navy to join the fight. The commodore and his men hurried to the battlefield. They arrived just in time to put up the stiffest American resistance in the battle, but were overpowered. Barney was severely wounded. Impressed by Barney's courage, British officers treated his wounds and released him.
Photo captions:
Out of retirement
Commodore Barney was retired from the Navy when war broke out. "To content himself with following the plough...while the blast of war was blowing in his ears, would have been...altogether contrary to his nature," wrote his daughter-in-law Mary.
Final stand at Bladensburg. Oil by Charles Waterhouse, U.S. Marine Corps Collection.
"They gave us the only fighting we have had." British Rear Admiral George Cockburn
In the summer of 1814 the United States had been at war with Great Britain for two years. Battlefronts had erupted from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. On August 24, following their victory over the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland, British troops marched on Washington with devastating results.
The Star-Spangled Banner Historic Trail reveals sites of the War of 1812 in Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland. Visit ChesapeakeExplorerApp.com or download the Chesapeake Explorer App.
| HM Number | HM1IXZ |
|---|---|
| Series | This marker is part of the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail series |
| Tags | |
| Placed By | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Monday, January 26th, 2015 at 9:02am PST -08:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 328199 N 4305466 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 38.88128333, -76.98063333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 38° 52.877', W 76° 58.838' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 38° 52' 52.62" N, 76° 58' 50.28" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 202 |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling North |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 540-598 17th St SE, Washington DC 20003, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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