Battle of Maida, Ross led
the 20th Regiment on a
surprise flank attack,
which contributed to the
rout of French forces. In
return for such sterling
service, Ross won the
first of three gold medals
from the British govern-
ment.
In 1808, Ross garnered
additional distinction
while campaigning on the
Iberian Peninsula under
Gen. John Moore. He
conducted a skillful rear-
guard action against su-
perior French forces, was
closely engaged at the
victory of Corunna, and
acquired his second gold
medal. However, in 1809
Ross and his regiment suffered the misfor-
tune of participating in the ill-fated expedition
against Walcheren, Netherlands, in which
nearly a third of the British army was lost to
disease. Ross then led his men back on an ex-
tended leave in Ireland to refit and retrain.
While there he rose to full colonel and gained
appointment as an aide-de-camp to King
George III. Always eager for action, Ross was
nonetheless relieved in 1812 when he gained
reassignment back to the Iberian Peninsula
under the brilliant Duke of Wellington. The
Great Duke, a fine judge of soldiers, assigned
him to a brigade with the rank of major gen-
eral. That same year Ross fought with distinc-
tion at the Battles of Pampeluna and
Sauroren, where he had two horses shot from
under him. Two years later, during the stub-
bornly contested February 1814 Battle of Or-
thez in southern France, Ross was seriously
wounded while leading his men into combat.
He consequently received a third gold medal,
the thanks of Parliament, and the Peninsula
Gold Cross for exemplary services. While
Ross spent several weeks convalescing,
Wellington had personally singled him out to
lead a brigade of his “In-
vincibles” against the Unit-
ed States that summer. In
June 1814, the ambitious
general embarked with
his men from Bordeaux,
France, and made for
Bermuda. The hunt for
additional glory was on.
Napoleon’s abdication
in April 1814 harbored se-
rious strategic conse-
quences for the United
States, for it released
thousands of veteran
British soldiers for ser-
vice in the War of 1812.
Worse yet, the British
government, angered by
the burning of York
(Toronto) in April 1813
and Port Dover, Ontario,
in June 1814, authorized British senior com-
manders to embark upon an officially sanc-
tioned policy of retribution. Ross, with his
single brigade of four veteran regiments
(Fourth, 21st, 44th, and 85th) under Cols.
Arthur Brookeand William Thornton, were
about to become the cutting edge of that
policy. He was conveyed to Chesapeake Bay
by Adm. Alexander Cochrane and united
with a squadron under Adm. George Cock-
burn. On August 19, 1814, Cockburn landed
Ross’s force of 4,500 men at Benedict, Mary-
land, while he sailed up the Pautuxent River
in search of Commodore Joshua Barney’s
gunboat flotilla. Barney subsequently de-
stroyed his fleet and marched overland to
Washington, D.C., which was only lightly de-
fended. Cockburn then left the fleet to join up
with Ross at Upper Marlborough and pre-
vailed upon him to advance upon the Ameri-
can capital, 28 miles distant. To take such a
small but veteran force, lacking any cavalry
whatsoever, through the heart of enemy coun-
try was an audacious ploy, indeed. But danger
was Ross’s calling, and he undertook the task
with abandon.ROSS, ROBERT
Robert Ross
Author’s Collection/The Fusiliers’ Museum