Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry is the birthplace of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' During the War of 1812, this star-shaped fort guarding Baltimore Harbor withstood a 25-hour British naval bombardment, and the sight of its huge American flag still flying at dawn on September 14, 1814, moved Francis Scott Key to write the words that became the United States' national anthem. The successful defense turned back a major British offensive and gave the young nation one of its most enduring patriotic symbols.

Fort McHenry was built between 1798 and 1800 to defend the busy port of Baltimore, its five-pointed star design typical of the era's coastal fortifications. It was named for James McHenry, a Maryland statesman who served as Secretary of War. For its first years the fort saw little action — until the War of 1812 brought a British fleet to the Chesapeake.

In September 1814, fresh from burning Washington, British forces moved on Baltimore. On September 13 their warships began bombarding Fort McHenry, hurling rockets and mortar shells for about 25 hours. The garrison held firm, and unable to pass the fort, the British broke off their assault on the city. Watching from a truce ship in the harbor was Francis Scott Key, a lawyer who had come to negotiate a prisoner's release.

At dawn on September 14, Key saw the fort's enormous garrison flag — a 30-by-42-foot banner sewn by Baltimore flagmaker Mary Pickersgill — still flying, and he was inspired to write the poem 'Defence of Fort M'Henry.' Set to music, it became 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and, in 1931, the national anthem. The fort later served as a prison and a hospital, and in 1925 it was made a national monument — the only site in the country also designated a 'historic shrine.'