Robert Ross

Engelsk generalmajor. Gjorde tjeneste i Neder-landene, Egypten, Den iberiske Halvø og USA. Dræbt ved Fort McHenry 12. september 1814.

• Bladensburg, 1814
• Fort McHenry, 1814

Born in Ireland, Robert Ross joined the 25th Foot in 1789, and rose steadily through the ranks to assume command of the regiment in 1803. A strict disciplinarian who drilled his men relentlessly, Ross was popular nevertheless. He was always ready to share in his soldiers' hardships and fight alongside them in the thick of battle. He was promoted to major general in 1812.
After participating in several major engagements of the Napoleonic War, Ross was sent to North America as the head of 4500 men to unite with Rear Admiral George Cockburn under the overall command of Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane. Their mission was to divert attention from other theatres of war and to avenge recent American outrages in Canada.

On August 19, 1814, Ross landed in Benedict, approximately sixty road miles from Washington. On August 24, in Bladensburg, his forces routed a larger American militia force and entered Washington later that evening. Ross escaped injury when a sniper's bullet killed the horse underneath him. Over the next two days, Ross' soldiers sacked and burned virtually every public building in the American capital. Though some private homes also went up in flames, Ross spared any whose residents offered no resistance.

Cochrane next ordered Ross to march on Baltimore. Ross landed 12 miles away at North Point on September 12, while the British warships went on to attack Fort McHenry. With Ross in the vanguard as usual, the British encountered U.S. resistance. A conspicuous target, Ross was shot from his horse. He died before reaching the coast.