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Today we took a journey to Baltimore to Fort McHenry. Since I was a child we always drove through Ft McHenry tunnel, but it never occurred to me there was an actual fort you could visit. Which, of course, means I did not know the story of the fort, and its importance to our national history. The short version is, during the war of 1812 the British were trying to take over Baltimore. They had captured three American gentlemen, one of which was Frances Scott Key. There was a fierce and fiery battle, and the three gentlemen (who were returned to an American ship) watched the fort for a sign of who won the battle. Well, by ’dawns early light’ they saw a HUGE American flag raised. From the boat Frances Scott Key wrote the opening lines to the poem, yes, poem—not song, which later came to be our National Anthem. It was pretty neat! |
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Why do I never tire of kids in jail photos? |
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The bomb shelter was where the soldiers would go if the fort was bombed. You can see to the right how really thick these walls were. Ironically, this shelter wasn’t here during the war of 1812. |
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Armistead was the leader of the fort during the war of 1812. Behind the cannons you can see the point the fort defended. It is just north of Baltimore. |
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You can see Audrey and Spencer watching the fort above, and the quarters are located in the center of the fort. We were surprised to see the general, and the guardhouse were all connected. However, you will notice the guardhouse didn’t even provide soldiers with a mattress! And, they really had to cozy up on those boards! To the left, you see the colonial version of a fire extinguisher. |
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Break time! |
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This display shows how they may have found artifacts at the fort if you could slice the earth like a piece of bread! Cool! |
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Things we learned:
1814 was a bad year. It was hard to live at the fort, they had barely any room to sleep, and it was a chaotic time. The war of 1812 started between the French and the English, and then came to America. The Star Spangled Banner was written on a ship.
More info at these sites: |