The Star-Spangled Banner

The Song

The Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key, a lawyer
from Washington, who had come to Baltimore to negotiate the release
of his friend Dr. Williams Beanes from the British. While he was
onboard the British warship, about eight miles out, he watched the
shelling of the fort. With every blast from a rocket or bomb, he could
see a quick glimpse of the flag. At the dawn he saw the grand flag still flying over the fort.

Key later served as a United States District Attorney. He also wrote
several hymns. Key died in1843 while visiting his sister in Baltimore.

A side note here: Key's brother-in-law, Roger Brooke Taney, was the
Chief Justice of the Supreme court and administered the oath of office
to Abraham Lincoln in 1861.

Key was not the only one to have written down the impression of the flying
of the Star-Spangled Banner, a British Midshipman on board the HMS
Hebrus wrote" ... as the last British ship hoisted her canvas to the wind, the
Americans hoisted a most suberb and splendid ensign over their battey."

A British bomb, and a British rocket.

The Flag

When LTC George Armistead took command of Ft. McHenry, he
found himself in need of a flag. He wrote to his superiors  "We, Sir,
are ready at Fort McHenry to defend Baltimore against invading by
the enemy. That is to say, we are ready except we have no suitable
ensign to display over the Star Fort, and it is my desire to have a
flag so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a
distance."

The flag flown over Fort McHenry, sewn by Mary Young Pickersgill,
measured 42 by 30 feet. Its stars were about a foot across. The flag
was delivered by August 19,1813.

The Fort

The site on the edge of the Patapsco River was an excellent location
for a number of reasons: 1) the location was far enough from the city
to be able to protect it without endangering it; 2) it was surrounded
on three sides by water, which meant that any naval attack on the
city must pass the fort; 3) with water on three sides any attacker
must show their hand before the men in the fort were in range of
musket fire.

The first fort on the site was Fort Whetstone, built during the
Revolutionary War. This fort was an earthenwork, which may have
followed the same design as the later fort.

Fort McHenry was designed by Jean Foncin, a French engineer.
James McHenry, the Secretary of War at the time was
instrumental in providing support for the construction. The fort,
then named in his honor, is laid out in a classic star formation.
Using this configuration each point can be defended by its
neighboring points and all other walls have the cannons from
two points covering them. The base commander, George
Armistead, then had earthworks put up more remotely and
placed cannon behind them, providing even more protection.

Born in Ireland, McHenry immigrated to Philadelphia in 1771
where he studied medicine. He served in the American Revolution
first, as a surgeon, then as a secretary to General Washington, and
later as an aide to General Lafayette.

McHenry served in the Congress from 1783 to 1786; represented
Maryland at the Constitutional Congress, and was elected for a
number of terms to the Maryland legislature.

The Men

On Independence Day 1813, Joshua Barney, who fought in the
Revolutionary War, submitted a plan for the defense of the
Chesapeake Bay area, calling for the creation of light-draft
gunboats and barges armed with long guns. This flotilla did much
to harrass and detain the British. In late August, Barney was
forced to blow up the flotilla to prevent its capture. During the
battle for Washington, Barney was wounded and captured by
the British.

Of all the men at Ft. McHenry, there were only four lost their lives
from the Bombardment

The Commander

Fort McHenry was commanded by Lt. Colonel George Armistead from
1813 until 1818. Born in 1780 in Caroline County Virginia, George
Armistead was one of four sons who served their country during the
War of 1812. Of his brothers, one died at Fort Erie, Canada and one
at Savannah, Georgia. George Armistead, having played an active role
in the capture of Fort George in Canada, carried the captured British
flags to President Madison. Upon arriving, he was ordered to "take
command of Fort McHenry." LTC Armistead became a national hero
for the young United States by "the dawn's early light" on September
14, 1814 for his defense of this fort. His tireless efforts at Fort McHenry
left him exhausted and unable to regain his health; he died in 1818 while
still in command of Fort McHenry.

Armistead's wife and their two-year-old daughter were evacuated to
Gettysburg, PA at the time of the Brittish bombardment. Mrs.
Armistead gave birth to a daughter the day after the American victory
at Ft. McHenry.

A half century later, his nephew, Lewis Addison Armistead (1817-
1863), led the vanguard of Pickett's charge at Gettysburg on July 3,
1863. General Lewis Armistead received mortal wounds as he
reached the cannons in the center of the Union lines, he died of wounds
two days later. In late July, 1863 he was brought to Baltimore. He was
buried next to his uncle in Old St Paul's Cemetary.

A side note here: Christopher Hughes, Jr., one of the U.S
commissioners at Ghent, Belgium, was the brother-in-law of
LTC Armistead.

The Women

Wives and daughters of the men were employed to cook for the men or
do their laundry. These women were paid $10 a month. As the men
received $12 a month, this amount was greatly needed.

When the shelling began, the ladies were allowed to leave, a number
stayed behind in the fort to tend to the needs of the men.

One of these ladies, the daughter of a cannoneer, was the fifth person
killed during the bombardment. As she ventured out of the fort to carry
a meal to her father she was struck by one of the British rockets which
hit her in the head.