Chesapeake Bay Flotilla The Chesapeake Bay Flotilla was a collection of barges and gunboats that the United States assembled under the command of Joshua Barney , an 1812 privateer captain , to stall British attacks in the Chesapeake Bay , during the War of 1812 . The Flotilla engaged the Royal Navy in several inconclusive battles before Barney was forced to scuttle the vessels themselves on 22 August 1814 . The men of the Flotilla then served onshore in the defense of Washington , DC and Baltimore . It was disbanded on 15 February 1815 , after the end of the war . Formation . Joshua Barney submitted a plan for the defense of the Chesapeake Bay to Secretary of the Navy William Jones on 4 July 1813 . He estimated that a force consisting of gunboats and barges that could be sailed or rowed , manned by sailors and those in the shipbuilding industries , could engage British landing parties in the shallow waters of the Bay . He set sail in April 1814 with these eighteen ships : seven barges , six barges , two gunboats , one row - galley , one lookout boat and his flagship , the sloop - rigged , self - propelled floating battery USS " Scorpion " , mounting two long guns and two carronade s . Operations . Battle of St . Jerome Creek . On 1 June 1814 , Barney ' s flotilla , led by " Scorpion " , were coming down Chesapeake Bay when it encountered the 12 - gun schooner ( the former Baltimore privateer " Atlas " ) , and boats from the 74 - gun Third Rates and near St . Jerome Creek . The flotilla pursued " St Lawrence " and the boats until they reached the protection of the two 74s . The American flotilla then retreated into the Patuxent River , which the British quickly blockaded . The British outnumbered Barney by 7 : 1 , forcing the flotilla on 7 June to retreat into St . Leonard ' s Creek . Two British frigates , the 38 - gun and the 32 - gun , plus the 18 - gun sloop - of - war , blockaded the mouth of the creek . The creek was too shallow for the British warships to enter , and the flotilla outgunned , and hence was able to fend off , the boats from the British ships . Battles continued through 10 June . The British , frustrated by their inability to flush Barney out of his safe retreat , instituted a " campaign of terror , " laying waste to " town and farm alike " and plundering and burning Calverton , Huntingtown , Prince Frederick , Benedict and Lower Marlboro . Among the British units that participated in the campaign were a battalion of Royal Marines and the Corps of Colonial Marines , a unit that the British had recruited from among former American slaves . Battle of St . Leonard ' s Creek . On 26 June , after the arrival of troops commanded by U . S . Army Colonel Decius Wadsworth , and U . S . Marine Captain Samuel Miller , Barney attempted a breakout . A simultaneous attack from land and sea on the blockading frigates at the mouth of St . Leonard ' s creek allowed the flotilla to move out of the creek and up - river to Benedict , Maryland , though Barney had to scuttle gunboats 137 and 138 in the creek . The British entered the then - abandoned creek and burned the town of St . Leonard , Maryland . The British , under the command of Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane , moved up the Patuxent , preparing for a landing at Benedict , Maryland . For several days the British Fleet bombarded the Flotilla with cannon and Congreve rocket s in an attempt to destroy it . On 19 August 1814 , the Flotilla left St . Leonard ’ s Creek and sailed north up the Patuxent River . A plan had been discussed to transport the entire Flotilla overland from the port of Queen Anne to the South River and return it to the Bay . However , concerned that the Flotilla would fall into British hands , Secretary of the Navy Jones ordered Barney to take his squadron as far up the Patuxent as possible , to Queen Anne , and scuttle the vessels should the British appear . On 22 August the British approached the Flotilla , and Barney ordered its destruction . He then force - marched the men from the flotilla and such cannons as were movable , to Washington D . C . where they were to join the Battle of Bladensburg . Three active battalions of the Regular Army ( 1 - 4 Inf , 2 - 4 Inf and 3 - 4 Inf ) perpetuate the lineages of the old 36th and 38th Infantry Regiments , both of which had elements that participated in the Battle of St . Leonard ' s Creek . Battle of Queen Anne . On 22 August the British attempted to capture Barney ' s squadron at Queen Anne . In his report of the affair , the tactical commander , Admiral Sir George Cockburn wrote : Battle of Bladensburg . On 24 August Barney and the flotilla participated in the Battle of Bladensburg . The Flotilla stood their ground and the British suffered heavy casualties at the hands of Barney ’ s cannoneers . Barney received a serious wound to his thigh from a musket ball and since they were about to be overwhelmed by British regulars , ordered the Flotilla to retreat . The Flotilla , along with the United States Marines from the Marine Corps Barracks at 8th and I Streets in Washington , D . C . , commanded by Lt . Miller , were the last two American units to leave the battlefield . Battle of Baltimore . Approximately 500 of the flotilla men then marched to Baltimore , joining others there , and were assigned to the U . S . Naval Command Second Regiment . They manned the following posts in the defense of Baltimore : The Flotilla manned these positions throughout the Battle of Baltimore , pitting sailor against sailor in fighting the British Fleet . The Flotilla inflicted numerous casualties on the attacking British ships , especially during the attempted night assault on Battery Babcock by a Royal Marine landing party . Lt . Col . David Harris reported that Charles Messenger was killed in action at the Water Battery , and three other flotilla men wounded . After the Battle of Baltimore , the Flotilla did not participate in any further engagements . On 15 February 1815 , Congress repealed the short lived Flotilla Act and the Flotilla was disbanded . Archeology . In 1978 , a survey of the upper Patuxent River using a proton precession magnetometer located the fleet . Further study of the wrecks , including one vessel dubbed the " Turtle Shell " Wreck ' , followed in 1979 . The " Turtle Shell " was lying in the main river channel near Wayson ' s Corner , and covered by five feet of mud , the ship was well preserved , although it appeared the bow was torn off in an explosion . When the new Route 4 Hills Bridge was built in 1990 , remnants of Barney ' s ships were found buried more than five feet below the riverbed . A replica of one of Joshua Barney ' s gunboats today sits in Bladensburg Waterfront Park in Bladensburg , Maryland .