Bladensburg
[key], town (2020 pop. 9,657), Prince Georges co., S central Md., a
residential suburb of Washington, D.C.; chartered 1742, inc. 1854. The
defeat (Aug. 24, 1814) at Bladensburg of American troops under Gen. W. H.
Winder permitted the British under Gen. Robert Ross to march on Washington,
D.C., and burn many of the public buildings. The town was also the scene of
a historic duel in which Stephen Decatur was mortally wounded (1820) by
James Barron.
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