Baltimore

 The day I viewed Baltimore, the sun was shining and for mid  November that was unheard of.  This made my trip very memorable. I ate lunch outside on the deck of one of the restaurants. I mixed with Americans who were also taking in the sights and it was a lovely experience, looking across the harbour with the sun shimmering on the waters edge. I only spent a few hours here but I can imagine you could quite easily spend a long weekend here and then venture further a field.

I walked around the inner harbour, I saw Fort McHenry across the harbour and we drove over there to see where the birthplace of the national anthem was born.  Here is a little history of the fort...

History

During the War of 1812, the people of Baltimore were certain that the British would attack the city. Not knowing for sure when an attack would occur, they spent months preparing for it. Everything was made ready at Fort McHenry to defend Baltimore. But, there was no suitable flag to fly over the Star Fort. Major George Armistead, the commanding officer, desired "to have a flag so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance."

Major Armistead got his wish when General John S. Stricker and Commodore Joshua Barney ordered two flags, especially made for the garrison, from Mary Pickersgill, a well-known flag maker in Baltimore. She worked relentlessly on the heavy, woollen flags, one of which was to be the largest battle flag ever flown. It measured 30 feet wide by 42 feet long. The other flag, called a "storm flag," measured 17 feet by 25 feet.

The larger of the two flags had stripes two feet wide and stars 24 inches from point to point. At that time, it was the practice to add one star and one stripe for each new state joining the Union. In 1814, the official United States flag had 15 stars and 15 stripes.

The 30' X 42' flag was the one that Francis Scott Key saw on the morning of September 14, 1814. It inspired him to write the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner." Today, this flag is displayed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.

Fort McHenry became famous when the British tried to attack Baltimore during the War of 1812. When the bombardment began on September 13, 1814, there were 1,000 soldiers defending the fort. Some were federal soldiers who were stationed at Fort McHenry all the time. Many were volunteers from the city of Baltimore. Their commanding officer was Major George Armistead. For 25 hours, the British bombarded Fort McHenry, but the fort's artillery fire kept the British away. Baltimore was saved.