Battle of Fort Peter The Battle of Fort Peter , or the Battle of Fort Point Peter or Fort Point Petre , was a successful attack by a British force on St . Marys , Georgia and a smaller force of American soldiers at Fort Peter , a small fort protecting the town . Point Peter is located at the mouth of Point Peter Creek and the St . Marys River . The battle occurred in January 1815 , after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent , which would end the War of 1812 , but before the treaty ' s ratification . The attack on Fort Peter occurred at the same time as the Siege of Fort St . Philip in Louisiana and was part of the British occupation of St . Marys and Cumberland Island . Battle . On January 10 , 1815 , British forces under the command of Admiral Sir George Cockburn landed on Cumberland Island , Georgia , in an effort to tie up American forces and keep them from joining other American forces defending New Orleans , Louisiana , and the Gulf Coast . The British force consisted of the three Royal Marines Battalions ( 560 men in the 1st & 2nd , plus the six companies of the 3rd ) , ships ' detachments of Royal Marines from the squadron ( 120 men ) , and two companies from the 2nd West India Regiment ( 190 men ) . Bad weather and lack of materials and ships delayed Cockburn until it was too late to produce any effect on the outcome of the battle for New Orleans . Despite the U . S . victory at New Orleans , the occupation of Cumberland Island continued . On January 13 a British force first bombarded and then landed near Fort Peter on Point Peter by the town of St . Marys . The British attacked and took the fort without suffering any casualties . The British land force then headed for St . Marys along the St . Mary ’ s River . While they were on their way they encountered a small American force of 160 soldiers of the 43rd Infantry Regiment and the Rifle Corps under Captain Abraham A . Massias . A skirmish ensued before the Americans retreated . Massias estimated the size of the British force as 1500 men . He reported that American casualties on 13 January numbered 1 killed , 4 wounded , and 9 missing . Although Massias believed that British casualties were numerous , they amounted to only three men killed and five wounded in the entire expedition . On January 15 the British captured St . Marys . American reports suggest that the British looted the town ' s jewelry store and stole fine china and other goods from the residents . British reports are that they agreed terms with the town ' s inhabitants under which the residents gave up all public property and all the British respected all private property . The British captured two American gunboats and 12 merchantmen , including the East Indiaman " Countess of Harcourt " , which an American privateer had captured on her way from India to London . The British ended their occupation of St . Marys after about a week . They burned the fort , including its blockhouses and barracks , and withdrew to Cumberland Island . This small battle was the only land engagement during the war to occur within the state of Georgia . Fort Point Peter Today . The British burned Fort Point Peter to the ground after their victory ; it was never rebuilt . In 1953 , a historical marker was placed at the battlefield . In 2002 , a planned housing development at Point Peter spurred archaeological interest in the former site of the fort . Due to activists and the close proximity to the Kings Bay Naval Base , the development came under pressure to survey the cultural resources of Point Peter . The developer hired Scott Butler , an archaeologist for Brockington and Associates , to conduct a study . As of 2009 , archaeologists have found thousands of artifacts , including cannons , muskets , musket balls , knives and uniform button s . Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum opened an exhibit on the findings of the dig .