Under the command of Captain James S. Sayward, the Gloucester Artillery Battery was mustered into federal service on September 9, 1814, for service at Gloucester, and was mustered out on October 29, 1814 [REF].
During the late summer and autumn of 1814, following the British attacks on Washington and Baltimore, the British fleet off the east coast of the United States became much more active and were regularly threatening coastal communities with bombardment and invasion.