What a difference 199 years makes! In May 1813, Georgetown and Fredericktown were thriving riverfront communities on opposite sides of the Sassafras River. As part of their campaign to destroy plantation agriculture and to divert attention from marauding on the Western Shore, British troops sailed up the Sassafras and burned most of the buildings in the two villages. Kitty Knight persuaded Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn to spare the brick house at the top of the hill because an invalid was inside. Today, that house is an historic inn named for Kitty Knight. In this area, it is Kitty Knight, more than Francis Scott Key or Andrew Jackson, who is the real hero of the War of 1812.
Today, the only fighting in Georgetown is likely to be between boat dogs that accompany their owners on the hundreds of pleasure boats that line both sides of the Sassafras. The only rockets are those launched safely on the 4th of July.
Other than the Kitty Knight House, there is no reminder of that awful day in 1813. That is why Ralph and Mary Hall, owners of the Kitty Knight House, have planted a memorial garden on the hill where the British landed. Next to the garden, the National Park Service recently installed a 3-sided kiosk with information and artwork about the War of 1812. The kiosk is a marker for the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. At a June 27 dedication of the marker and the garden, Mary Hall explained to a small crowd that their purpose is to “remember those who stood their ground.”
[…] There are a number of signs on the Upper Chesapeake. The one at Havre de Grace is located at the Chamber of Commerce Office and Visitors Center. Those following the trail will also find the larger panels on Main Street in Elkton and down on the Sassafras River near the Kitty Knight House. […]