Maryland; stories of her people and of her history . JESSE DUNCAN ELLIOTT 175 MARYLAND how to sail a vessel. All but two of his sailors haddeserted. He ran the brig aground a second time. In the meanwhile Lieutenant Elliott had destroyed theDetroit. He sent orders to Captain Towson to burn theCaledonia, as a large force of the enemy was coming to therescue. But Captain Towson would not destroy the left her in charge of three men, with orders to burn herif the enemy came. It turned out to be a false alarm thatthe British were coming, and thus the Caledonia wassaved. She afterwards made
Maryland; stories of her people and of her history . JESSE DUNCAN ELLIOTT 175 MARYLAND how to sail a vessel. All but two of his sailors haddeserted. He ran the brig aground a second time. In the meanwhile Lieutenant Elliott had destroyed theDetroit. He sent orders to Captain Towson to burn theCaledonia, as a large force of the enemy was coming to therescue. But Captain Towson would not destroy the left her in charge of three men, with orders to burn herif the enemy came. It turned out to be a false alarm thatthe British were coming, and thus the Caledonia wassaved. She afterwards made one of Commodore Perrysfleet. Congress presented Lieutenant Elliott with a sword asa reward for his part in the capture of the Detroit and theCaledonia, and also presented him with a gold medal forhis brave conduct later on in the war. Captain Towson also served bravely throughout thewar, and rose to the rank of major-general. Towson,the county seat of Baltimore County, where he was born,was named in his 176 XVI THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER THIS noble poem was written during the War of1812. Most likely it would never have been writ-ten if the British had not so hated the city ofBaltimore. But you will ask, why did England hateBaltimore more than the rest of the United States. Letus see the reason why. In those days there were many vessels called ^ priva-teers. They were called so because they were owned,not by the government, but by private persons. Butthey were commissioned by the government. This meansthat the government gave them papers saying they mightcarry cannon and other arms, and that they might go outto sea to attack and capture an enemys ships. Many of these privateers had sailed from the UnitedStates during the Revolution. But during the war of1812 they just swarmed over all the ocean. And moreof these vessels sailed from Baltimore than from any othercity in the United States. The Baltimore privateerswere especially famous. They were fast sailors, wellarmed, and
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