Baltimore, MD — Fort McHenry

Today we took an Uber to Locust Point to tour Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry was built in 1798. It was used continuously by the armed forces through WWI and the Coast Guard through WWII. 


Fort McHenry

The Fort was built to defend Baltimore Harbor from attack. On September 13, 1814 the British tried to sail into Baltimore Harbor to take Baltimore as they had done with Washington. Fort McHenry put up a valiant defense.  Due to the poor accuracy of cannon shots at maximum range for both sides, the British were not able to sail past the Fort.  

Young Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Washington, was on one of the British ships trying to negotiate a prisoner release.  The British held him during the attack so he could not return to the Americans with knowledge of the British plans.  The bombardment of the Fort started the early morning of September 13, 1814 and ceased 25 hours later on September 14, 1813.  Key looked through the smoke to see if he could see what flag was flying at the Fort.  Finally he saw the American flag, and knew the Fort had held.  He was so moved that he began writing the “Defence of Fort McHenry” set to the tune of “The Anacreontic Song” now known as “The Star Bangled Banner”.   

You might get a feel for the way Key felt.  Remember 9/11 and the World Trade Center was reduced to rubble?  And then the workers hoisted that large American flag at the site?  It brought feelings of camaraderie and pride in our country.  

There are different sizes of the American flag used at Fort McHenry, depending on weather.  We arrived at the Fort this morning just in time to see the change of flags.  The overnight flag is also the smallest. It is also used in high winds and storms.  Since we had the small craft warning yesterday, the smallest flag was flying.  So the Park Rangers needed to change the flag to one of the larger size.  But no matter what, an American Flag is always flying at Fort McHenry!

Flag when we arrived at the Fort (very small)


Flag flown during the day today

Actually, Congress decreed that the American flag will be flown at Fort McHenry 24/7/365.  

We saw many cannons, cannonballs, ramparts (sides that protect the Fort), and bricks.

















We arrived early enough (first ferry) to see the hoisting of the flag for today.



The bridge we went under




Now that I know what to look for, I can see the fingerprints on old bricks

And more cobblestone roads

We went to lunch at a Ramen restaurant. 


Then we walked around the city.  We saw similarities to Charleston.






Ok, I know I’ve seen this granite on a kitchen counter somewhere
although it does look good as a crosswalk.

There’s a Domino Sugars Plant here


And for a cute picture, this baby bird was hiding in flowers as I walked by.







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