During the War of 1812, the Navy Yard was an important support facility. It was also helped defend the capital city from the British. Sailors at the Navy Yard were part of the hastily assembled American army which, at Bladensburg, Maryland, opposed the British forces marching on Washington. The Navy Yard sailors and marines of nearby Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., were in the third and last line of defense at Bladensburg. Together, they fought hand to hand with cutlasses and pikes against the British regulars before being overwhelmed. As the British marched into Washington, holding the Yard became impossible. Tingey, seeing the smoke from the burning Capitol, ordered the Yard burned to prevent its capture by the enemy. Tingey's own quarters (now Quarters A) and the Latrobe Gate were spared from the flames. Both structures are now individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.