History of the United States Navy the ship!". Despite their earlier successes, by 1814 many of the Navy's best ships were blockaded in port and unable to prevent British incursions on land via the sea. During the summer of 1814, the British fought the Chesapeake Campaign, which was climaxed by amphibious assaults against Washington and Baltimore. The capital fell to the British almost without a fight, and several ships were burned at the Washington Navy Yard, including the 44-gun frigate USS "Columbia". At Baltimore, the bombardment by Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner", and the hulks blocking the channel prevented the
Battle of Pensacola (1814) The presence of the Creek refugees had motivated British Brevet Captain George Woodbine of the Royal Marines to travel to Pensacola in July 1814. Woodbine's liaisons with the refugees and the Spanish governor of Pensacola would subsequently lead to the British having a military presence at Pensacola from August 23, 1814, initially occupying Fort San Miguel. and the town itself. The potency of the British force, and its perceived ability to see off any American forces were leveraged by Edward Nicolls in his negotiations with the Spanish. The measure of perceived potency, however, was somewhat reduced in the aftermath of