BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: FORT McHENRY

I'm embarrassed to admit that I may not have been able to identify the significance of Fort McHenry before I actually visited it.  I am intrigued by the fact that it's not just a national monument, but also a historic shrine. I have always associated shrines with religious sites. Maybe it was designated a shrine because it is a battlefield site, or is it because of its connection to the national anthem? It is the only site in the National Park Service to have both designations.

During the War of 1812, this fort successfully defended Baltimore from an attack by the British Navy.

However, what makes this Fort especially famous is this:

Before we actually went to the fort, we spent some time in the visitor center. I like this view of the star-spangled banner

We learned all about the origin of our National Anthem:

. . . and we saw Key's original hand-written draft of the lyrics.:

This touchscreen was my favorite thing in the museum. We could listen to ten different version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" sung by various artists, including Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl, Marvin Gaye at a basketball all-star game, and others.

Francis Scott Key stands in front of the fifteen-star flag he helped to immortalize. Notice anything weird about the flag? It has FIFTEEN stripes instead of the standard thirteen! (I have no idea why.)

We learned that these days different flags are flown according to the weather:

Lucky for us, the full-size replica of Key's flag was flying:

The story is that Francis Scott Key and two other men had boarded a British ship with the purpose of negotiating the release of prisoners. However, they were not allowed to leave the ship because they knew too much about the British position and the strength of British troops. There was heavy shelling of the fort by the British on the night of September 13, 1814. During the night, a small storm flag was flown over Fort McHenry. It was replaced early on the morning of Sept 14 with the full-sized garrison flag (30 x 42 feet), which signaled an American victory over the British. Seeing the flag from a ship miles away, Key was so moved that he was inspired to write a poem about the experience. The poem was later set to the tune "To Anacreon in Heaven," which was actually a drinking song. The pairing of words and music eventually became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner," and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order to make it the national anthem of the United States.

This plaque was made for the centennial in 1914 at the beginning of another important war. Somewhat ironically, the design was by Hans Schuler, a German immigrant:

During the battle, both soldiers and sailors manned these heavy 10,000-pound cannons. A crew consisted of 21 men, and if they worked quickly, they could fire a round every two minutes. The shot weighed 18 to 36 pounds and could reach a range of 1.5 miles. The 26 cannons in two tiers were the fort's primary means of defense.

The fort is more or less star-shaped, and the inside courtyard is huge:

I liked this information about African-Americans at the time of the War of 1812. Some escaped to freedom on the British side, and others fought on the American side:

The rooms around the interior perimeter were full of information about the many uses of Fort McHenry over the past two centuries. It's been an active military site most of that time.

During World War I, the U.S. Army built more than 100 buildings around the fort to be used for the care of wounded soldiers from the battlefields of France. With room for 3,000 soldiers and 1,000 staff, it was one of the largest military hospitals in the country. In all, 20,000 wounded soldiers passed through the doors of Fort McHenry during World War I. Great strides were made in neurosurgery and reconstructive surgery here.

This hospital also pioneered new techniques for occupational therapy, helping severely wounded men to return to a productive life.

Following the war, the extra buildings were razed, the grounds were restored, and the historic structures were refurbished. The U.S. Army transferred the property to the National Park Service in 1933.

The NPS has restored the fort mostly back to its 1812-1814 days:

I was intrigued by this "sample" dinner made of plastic food, complete with raw oysters in the half-shell, a roasted chicken, and sweet potatoes:

The magazine, or gunpowder storage room, could store 30,000 pounds of black powder, which is about the same as 10 tons of TNT. Each of these barrels weighed 100 pounds when full:

We had a stare-down with George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. He is the one that ordered a flag "so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it at a distance."

The ginormous flag was made by Mary Pickersgill and eight other women:.

Thar she blows!

In the central yard, there were two finely dressed 19th century gentlemen conversing about Important Stuff with an oddly dressed man standing between them:

We took a walk around the battlements and got some great views of the surrounding area:

One of the most exciting parts of the visit was a flyover by a stealth bomber:

On our way out of the National Monument, we noticed this towering statue. I thought it must be a tribute to Native Americans, but on closer inspection we learned that it is the legendary Greek hero Orpheus:

What in heaven's name does Orpheus have to do with Fort McHenry?  Well, in 1912 the Fine Arts Commission sponsored a national competition for a statue to honor not just the defenders of this fort, but also Francis Scott Key. Instead of Ares, God of War, they chose Orpheus, the God of Music and Poetry, as the winning design.  It's nice to have the arts triumph over the military every now and then.