Washington lawyer Francis Scott Key went to Baltimore to negotiate the release of Dr. Main article: Star-Spangled Banner (flag) The family of Major George Armistead, the commander of the fort, donated the flag to the Smithsonian Institution in 1912. Star-Spangled Banner Flag that flew over Fort McHenry during its bombardment in 1814, which was witnessed by Francis Scott Key. However, either the rain extinguished the fuse or the bomb was a dud. At one point during the bombardment, a bomb crashed through the fort's powder magazine. The Americans, under the command of Major George Armistead, lost four killed-including one black soldier, Private William Williams, and a woman who was cut in half by a bomb as she carried supplies to the troops-and 24 wounded. Only one British warship, a bomb vessel, received a direct hit from the fort's return fire, which wounded one crewman. Thus the naval part of the British invasion of Baltimore had been repulsed. The poor accuracy on both sides resulted in very little damage to either side before the British, having depleted their ammunition, ceased their attack on the morning of September 14. The British vessels were only able to fire their rockets and mortars at the fort at the weapons' maximum range. The British ships were unable to pass Fort McHenry and penetrate Baltimore Harbor because of its defenses, including a chain of 22 sunken ships, and the American cannons. The British guns had a range of 2 miles (3 km), and the British rockets had a 1.75-mile (2.8 km) range, but neither guns nor rockets were accurate. The American defenders had 18-, 24- and 32-pounder (8, 11, and 16 kg) cannons. on September 13, 1814, British warships under the command of Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane continuously bombarded Fort McHenry for 25 hours. Main article: Battle of Baltimore Bombardment of Fort McHenryīeginning at 6:00 a.m. Afterwards, he was appointed United States Secretary of War (1796–1800), serving under Presidents George Washington and John Adams.ġ9th century War of 1812 He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Maryland and a signer of the United States Constitution. In case of such an attack on this first line of defense, each point, or bastion could provide a crossfire of cannon and small arms fire.įort McHenry was named after early American statesman James McHenry (1753–1816), a Scots-Irish immigrant and surgeon-soldier. The moat would serve as a shelter from which infantry might defend the fort from a land attack. The new fort was a bastioned pentagon, surrounded by a dry moat-a deep, broad trench. The new fort's purpose was to improve the defenses of the increasingly important Port of Baltimore from future enemy attacks. The Frenchman Jean Foncin designed the fort in 1798, and it was built between 17. Fort Whetstone stood on Whetstone Point in the residential and industrial area of present-day Locust Point in Baltimore, which juts into the opening of Baltimore Harbor between the basin at the present-day Inner Harbor and Northwest branch on the north side and the Middle and Ferry (now Southern) branches of the Patapsco River on the south side. The sight of the ensign inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem " Defence of Fort M'Henry" that was later set to music in the song " To Anacreon in Heaven", which was later known and designated as " The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States.įort McHenry was built on the site of the former Fort Whetstone, which was used to defend Baltimore from 1776 to 1797. The larger flag signaled American victory over the British in the Battle of Baltimore. The flag was replaced early on the morning of September 14, 1814, with a larger American garrison flag, 30 by 42 feet (9.1 m × 12.8 m). National Monument.ĭuring the War of 1812, an American storm flag, 17 by 25 feet (5.2 m × 7.6 m), was flown over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment of the fort. It was designated a national park in 1925, and, in 1939, was redesignated a U.S. armed forces through World War I and by the United States Coast Guard in World War II. The fort was built in 1798 and was used continuously by U.S. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy from the Chesapeake Bay on September 13–14, 1814. Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.
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