Defending Baltimore

Fort McHenry saw active military duty from 1776 until 1912. The only battle that occurred at the fort was on September 13th and 14th in The War of 1812 when the British bombarded the fort and Francis Scott Key composed "The Star-Spangled Banner." The cannon in this image is from the U.S. Civil war era. During World War I, the entire area was surrounded by a huge military hospital. In 1925 the area was declared a National Park un the War Department. The Park was transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1933. Many years ago, we lived right across the river in Dundalk, Maryland.