AH-WR-0636

USS Scorpion

Self-Propelled Floating Artillery Battery · United States · Lost 1814 · Chesapeake Bay

Commodore Joshua Barney's flagship, scuttled with the rest of his outmatched Chesapeake Bay Flotilla to keep her from a superior British force in 1814.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Scorpion was a small, self-propelled floating battery that became flagship of Commodore Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, a scrappy force of gunboats and barges built to harry the British blockade during the War of 1812. After weeks of skirmishing on the Patuxent River, Barney's flotilla was trapped by an overwhelming British squadron in August 1814. Rather than surrender his ships, Barney ordered them burned near Pig Point on August 21, 1814, and marched his men overland to fight at the Battle of Bladensburg and the defense of Baltimore. A wreck believed to be part of the flotilla, and possibly Scorpion herself, was excavated by Navy and Maryland archaeologists in 2010-2011.

Vessel

Built: 1812
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 48.7 ft
Beam: 18.2 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail (sloop-rigged) and oars
Owners: United States Navy

Loss

Date: August 21, 1814
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Patuxent River near Pig Point, Prince George's County, Maryland
Water: Patuxent River, Chesapeake Bay
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Barney's men landed and went on to fight ashore at the Battle of Bladensburg; no deaths in the scuttling itself are recorded.
Master: Commodore Joshua Barney (flotilla commander); Major William B. Barney served as her captain during the 1814 campaign

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: A relatively intact, fully decked vessel identified at site 18PR226; excavated remains include surgical instruments and glass pharmaceutical bottles.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Site 18PR226 investigated 2010-2011
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 38.77° N 76.70° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, Maryland
Region: Chesapeake Bay

General area only: coordinate of Pigg Point on the Patuxent River from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)

Archaeologists who excavated the candidate wreck site later noted it may represent a different flotilla vessel rather than Scorpion herself; her identity is not conclusively confirmed.

Naval History and Heritage Command, Underwater Archaeology Branch, 'Chesapeake Flotilla - War of 1812'
Formation, service, scuttling, and excavation history.
Krueger, Neyland, and Schablitsky, 'Scorpion's Last Sting: The Investigation of a War of 1812 Shipwreck in the Patuxent River, Maryland'
Excavation findings and identification uncertainty.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Pigg Point (historical), Prince George's County, Maryland
coordinate of the named place of loss