Contingents of British Royal Marines and U.S. National Guard took part in a wreath laying ceremony on Friday at the Battle of Caulk’s Field memorial site on Rt. 21, near Rock Hall. The ceremony honored British soldiers fallen during the historic battle and highlighted the importance of modern alliances.
On August 31, 1814, Kent County militia snared a British Royal Navy unit in a midnight battle that lasted a half hour and left more than a dozen British soldiers dead, including their commander, Sir Peter Parker. Parker and his forces were commissioned to create a diversionary tactic to allow the British to overtake Baltimore. A week earlier Washington, D.C. had been torched. The short battle became one of the turning points in the War.
The Caulk’s Field ceremony was highlighted with speeches by James A. Adkins, Major General, National Guard, and Lt. Col. Colby S. Corrin, Royal Marines Commando Unit. The Daughters of the War of 1812 were also in attendance.
Steve Frohock says
It is not the bicentennial, yet. That will come in 2014 with a full scale reenactment of the battle and much more. We hope the wreath laying will be annuanl event.