the battle is fully developed
After moving the 21st into line, Col. Brooke was ready to make his advance on the American line. The 4th was supposed to already be outflanking the American left but was held up and was now advancing with the main line. The maneuver was however still sufficient to turn the flank.
The 51st Regiment of militia became unnerved by the sound of the British in the woods to their right; they fired only one volley before they broke, carrying a company of the 39th away with it. Others in the 39th melted away in the confusion.
Stricker held the rest of line firm until 3:30, when the British forced him to retreat in a relatively orderly fashion. The 5th and 27th regiments and the Rifle Battalion fell back where the 6th regiment straddled the road. Here Stricker also regrouped the 39th and 51st regiments.
last British land battle for Baltimore ends.
By about 4:00pm (1600), the battle had all but ended. Stricker had his men poised for the British to continue their advance. However, Brooke chooses not to pursue the American force. He decided to rest and regroup the army near the Methodist Meeting House.
Stricker, realizing that the British were not coming, also figured that his men had done enough for the day. He retired his Brigade back toward Baltimore, stopping at Worthington’s Mill some 6 miles away. Brooke made his camp for the night at the Meeting House, while deciding how to proceed against Baltimore the next day.
Conclusion
The British plans for a land attack on Baltimore are abandoned, to the jubilant relief of its citizenry. British losses for the Battle of North Point were 39 killed, 251 wounded and 50 missing. American losses were only 24 killed, 139 wounded, and 50 prisoners. More importantly perhaps, the British had lost a charismatic leader in General Ross. While they had won the field of battle, a serious blow had been dealt to their confidence in their ability to simply sweep aside militia.
General Stricker, although he had yielded the field, kept his brigade of militia in relatively good order. Perhaps more importantly, his men had redeemed the stain of Bladensburg, having gone toe-to-toe with some of Wellington’s Invincibles for a full half hour or more.
The action at North Point was to have a broader impact for the defense of Baltimore as a whole. Next day, as Colonel Brooke neared the American defensive lines on Hampstead Hill, the sight of nearly 15,000 militia, strongly supported by naval artillery guns, must have seemed formidable indeed. Col. Brooke no longer had the confidence or the strength in numbers to assault the Americans on Hampstead Hill.
Meanwhile, in a oft retold story, the British fleet could not reduce Ft. McHenry despite a long bombardment into the early hours of the 14th. The British land forces would not have critical support of the shipboard naval guns. Without this supporting fire to disrupt the defensive lines on Hampstead Hill, there was little chance of success on the ground. On the night of the 13th, to the backdrop of lightning and the flashes of bombs bursting over Ft. McHenry, the British ground troops stole away.
After burning the Todd family's house on their return march, the British ground forces soon embarked their ships anchored at North Point. The mighty British invasion fleet hoisted sail on the 17th and made for open waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore was saved.