Battle of Stuart's Pond

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Stuart's Pond


caption=
partof=War of 1812
date=November 27 – November 27, 1813
place=Near Annapolis, Maryland
result=Mutual Slaughter
combatant1=flagicon|UK United Kingdom
flagicon|UK Canada
combatant2=
strength1=40 regulars
strength2=50 militia
casualties1=40:
40 dead
casualties2=50:
50 dead

The Battle of Stuart's Pond, also known as the Wet Scramble, was a battle (though technically a splintered skirmish) of the War of 1812 fought on November 27, 1813 in a small pond on the west bank of the Chesapeake Bay.

The battle was quickly waged in the one afternoon and resulted in heavy losses for both sides. It was one of the only times the Maryland militia saw action. It is notable for its having been fought in a pond and for the categorical casualty count. It is sometimes cited as an example of the extreme bloodthirst that manifests in the fog of war.

The battle is named for James Fenthswick Stuart, a young journalist who provided the only account of the senseless clash, and who later wrote a poem about having borne witness to it and survived.

ources

*"The Incredible War of 1812", by J. Mackay Hitsman, Robin Brass Studio, ISBN 1-896941-13-3
*"Amateurs to Arms", by John R. Elting, Da Capo Press NY, ISBN 0-306-80653-3
*"1812: War With America", by Jon Latimer, Belknap Press MA, ISBN 978-067402584-4

External links

* [http://www.warof1812.ca/allbat.html Chronology of events leading up to and surrounding Battle of Stuart's Pond]