Third Floor: Some old stories are worth retelling | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Fort McHenry in Baltimore, the battles of North Point and Bladensburg and the burning of the White House are the most well-known sites, but the trail also includes such obscure locales as Caulk's Field on the Eastern Shore, where the British were defeated by militia forces.

There should be celebrations here, too. But because the trail does not include Bodkin Creek or the county-owned Hancock's Resolution, the champagne remains firmly corked.

Francis Scott Key observed the bombardment of Fort McHenry not too far out in the Patapsco River from Curtis Bay. Close not local history.

The significance of Bodkin Creek is the Lion of Baltimore.

This little-known story unfolded while the British were attacking Washington on Aug. 24, 1814.

According to research done by Kim Nelson, a British Royal Marine lieutenant aboard the HMS Menelaus recorded that his ship's captain burned "a fine schooner named the Lion of Baltimore" on that date.

The Lion was one of a group of privateers that had been sailing out of Baltimore and Massachusetts to harass the British merchant fleet as far away as the coast of Ireland.

The Chassuer, later renamed the Pride of Baltimore, was the most famous of the bunch.

Local historians believe The Lion raided 15 to 20 British ships before returning to its home port that summer, seizing a fortune in goods and adding to general pain-in-the-rear nature of the war for Britain. On the way home, it ran afoul of the Royal Navy coming up the Chesapeake Bay.

The Lion's skipper tried to hide in Bodkin Creek, but its tall masts were spotted by the Menelaus over near Kent Island.

Trapped, the American crew stripped its sails and abandoned ship before fleeing to Baltimore, some believe coming ashore at Hancock's Resolution. It had the only road to the city nearby.

Ironically, the commander of the Menelaus, Sir Peter Parker, died about a week later at Caulk's Field. It wasn't long before the British, also defeated at North Point, headed home.

Given the other events of that summer, and the fact that the War of 1812 gets lost between the Revolution and the Civil War in most history classes, it's not surprising that The Lion has been forgotten by almost everyone.

It's a footnote to a war most high school seniors only know because of its easy-to-remember name. When did the War of 1812 start? Duh.

Then Ms. Nelson tumbled on those old journal entries mentioning The Lion as she researched an official Navy history on the Chesapeake campaign. More clues followed and by 2003 archaeologists were using high-tech scanners to hunt for The Lion's remains.

The search failed to provide a definitive answer, but the rotting ribs of a ship still visible at extreme low tides have been suggested as the burned-out relic of a forgotten skirmish.

As recently as this spring, the continuing search was the subject of a presentation on underwater archaeology in Ocean City. You can see photos at the Maritime Archaeology and Historical Society Web site, www.mahsnet.org.

When all this started in earnest five years ago, the National Park Service was just getting going on the Star-Spangled Banner Trail. Fast forward to this spring, and Washington finally finished the job.

The trail includes the British water advance and withdrawal on the Patuxent River; the British diversionary feints; the British land march and withdrawal from Benedict to Bladensburg to Washington, D.C.; the battle of North Point and defense of Hampstead Hill; and the approach up the Patapsco and defense of Fort McHenry.

There's no reference to Bodkin Creek or the Hancock's Resolution, a park that draws a few visitors each weekend. Family lore maintains the farm was used as a milita signaling station during the war.

Why aren't they on the trail? Certainly, there is a declining interest in local history. People under 25 are more interested in the latest YouTube video.

But the story of The Lion and Hancock's Resolution are worth sharing. The county should take the steps to do that now that a bigger audience may be listening.

---

Rick Hutzell is the editor of the Maryland Gazette. E-mail him at rhutzell@mdgazette.com