Anniversary of the Battle of North Point

The turning point in the last British attempt to militarily defeat the United States was fought on this day in 1814. David Poe Sr. at 71 fought in that battle. He was the grandfather of Edgar Allan Poe. During the Revolutionary War, David Poe Sr. was the Assistant Quartermaster General of Baltimore. He lent $40,000 to the cause. The Continental Congress never repaid him. General LaFayette noted that Poe sent him $500 for the clothing and feeding of his troops. His wife Elizabeth helped sew clothes for the troops. LaFayette visited the grave of his friend Poe in Baltimore on October 23rd, 1824. This visit of LaFayette impelled the Congress to provide an annual pension for his impoverished widow Elizabeth of $240. In that same year, LaFayette visited Richmond, Virginia, where Edgar at age fourteen was a lieutenant in the honor guard of a volunteer company called the Junior Morgan Riflemen which was chosen to guard the general.