Neighbor News
Were the British in your backyard?
World shaping events unfolded right here in the Chesapeake Bay.
In 1814 the British came to the Chesapeake Bay like Vikings to pillage and burn the farms along its shores. They came with their great power to seek revenge on this upstart nation. After all they were fighting Napoleon and we had the nerve to declare war on them. They thought it a “stab in the back” and invaded our shores like The Empire Strikes Back in Star Wars. The British sailed their frigates with marines and rockets and attacked not just the cities but terrorized the people living near the Bay to teach us a lesson.
Do our children know that British soldiers tromped on the dirt and sailed the Bay in which they now play? Is there a privateer, that their marines burned, sitting in the mud in Bodkin Creek? Are there pieces of bullets in your backyard where they ravaged our shores? Do you live near a town that was occupied by the British?
Take your children this week and join Baltimore to celebrate our victory over the mighty British 200 years ago. Read our history in books that will catch the children’s interest such as The Town that Fooled the British, Ravens of Time Heap Havoc in the War of 1812, and The Biggest (and best) Flag That Ever Flew.
