ST. MICHAELS, Md.—On Aug. 10, 1813, cloaked in the early morning darkness, a fleet of British ships crawled up the Miles River and approached the small town of St. Michaels, Maryland.
It was the War of 1812, and the town’s many shipyards were churning out fast schooners used to slip past British trade embargos and privateer against enemy ships. But the thriving shipbuilding industry had put a target on the town’s back.
