As I sped up I-95 near Baltimore, I saw a road sign pointing the way to a destination I hadn't even considered, but which now seemed like a fantastic idea: Ft. McHenry.
In case you don't know, Ft. McHenry was the scene of the famous British bombardment during the War of 1812 that inspired Francis Scott key to write the poem that we now know as the Star Spangled Banner.
The fort's commander, Major George Armistead had specifically requested a flag "so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance." It was his way of thumbing his nose at the enemy. The original flag (currently on display at the Smithsonian) was 30 feet by 42 feet - so large that a smaller "storm" flag had also been made to fly when the pull of high winds would have snapped a pole flying the larger flag.
Two interesting side notes here:
First, storm clouds were brewing as I poked around the fort, and the rising winds caused the park rangers to enlist visitors to help pull down the gigantic replica flag...
...and raise the much smaller "storm" flag in its place.
Secondly, George Armistead's nephew, Lew Armistead, would die nearly forty-nine years later when the brigade he commanded pierced the center of the Union line and advanced to the "high water mark of the Confederacy" during Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg.
In September of 1814, the British had just captured and burned Washington, DC, and were moving on Baltimore. Francis Scott Key and another man had been taken aboard the British flagship HMS Tonnant under a flag of truce. They hoped to negotiate the release of Dr. William Beanes, an elderly Maryland physician who had been detained by the invaders because he had allegedly arranged the arrest of wounded British soldiers who had fallen under his care. So it was that Key watched the bombardment of Ft. McHenry from a British warship.
The British chose to shell the fort with heavy mortars and Congreve rockets, allowing them to stay beyond the effective range of McHenry's guns but also limiting the accuracy of their own weapons. Despite launching nearly 2,000 projectiles at the fort over the course of a rainy twenty-five hours, the British could cause little real damage, and finally sailed away.
The sight of the flag flying over the fort as daylight approached inspired Key to scribble his thoughts on the back of a letter he carried in his pocket. The lines that became our national anthem are familiar to all, but the original poem actually had three additional verses (click HERE for the full text).
You can tell, even from the satellite view on Google Maps, that the fort is marvelously maintained by the National Park Service. It is a popular attraction for visitors and a favorite recreation spot for Baltimore residents.
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The fort saw no further action after the British bombardment, but served as a prison during the Civil War, and was the site of a large hospital during World War I (dozens of buildings were constructed on the grounds without damaging the original structure), and a Coast Guard training station during World War II.
It's exactly the kind of place I like to visit when I can combine a drive, a walk, and a bit of our nation's history.
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