A shipwreck in the Patuxent River in Maryland appears to be the lost flagship USS Scorpion of Commodore Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Flotilla from the War of 1812. Outgunned by the British fleet, Barney withdraws up the river, ordering the entire flotilla scuttled. This opens the way for the British attack on Washington, burning the White House in 1814.
Artist Tina Dunkley uncovers her enslaved ancestor Ezekiel Loney's link to the burning of the White House. Freed by the British, he became a Colonial Marine at Fort Albium on Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay. The troops attacking Washington include Loney. He and his family later migrated to Trinidad & Tobago after the War of 1812.
