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In April 1814 British Rear Admiral George Cockburn, as ordered by his superior Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, began raiding the southern portion of Chesapeake Bay. Determining that American defenses were limited, Cochrane planned a land expedition to raid Washington, DC. The plan was to burn portions of the city and then withdraw, in part retaliating for American raids on the Canadian side of Lake Erie, including the raid on Port Dover. On June 31 the British force landed at Benedict, Maryland on the Patuxent River and marched on Washington. On August 24 the American forces were defeated in the Battle of Bladensburg, just east of Washington, and the British entered the city. They proceeded to set fire to the Capitol (which also housed the Library of Congress), the White House, and other government facilities, but did little damage to private residences. The burning of the Library of Congress destroyed many government records, including the drawings for most of the first and second system forts. The British withdrew after three days; local tradition credits a severe storm and tornado for hastening their departure and putting out the fires. On August 27 British ships proceeding up the Potomac came opposite Fort Washington, a few miles south of the city in Maryland. With only a small garrison of 56 men and not much left to defend, the fort's commander decided to abandon the fort and detonate the magazine. The British naval force completed the fort's destruction, then moved upriver to loot Alexandria. The British force that had burned Washington marched back to their ships on the Patuxent, and soon decided to proceed to Baltimore.