The Battle of Bladensburg took place on August 24th, 1814. British forces
broke camp at Melwood Park and moved northwest to Bladensburg. The
Baltimore militia, under the command of General Tobias Sansburg, was
positioned west of the Anacostia River along the Bladensburg-Washington
Road in the area of the present day Colmar Manor, and Fort Lincoln
Cemetery. Marching in the intense heat along the river road paralleling
today’s Kenilworth Avenue, the British arrived in Bladensburg about noon
and attacked the American defenders shortly thereafter. Read more about this historic battle.
