One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, MD. Not originally on our itinerary, we decided to visit it when we changed our last night hotel to a another in Baltimore to be closer to the airport since we had an early flight the next day.
We began our tour of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine at the Visitor Center. Like all the visitor centers we visited, the exhibits and staff were great. They showed a short film depicting the bombardment of the fort, the history and raising of the great flag, and how the Star Spangled Banner came to be written. The film concluded with a shot of the flag waving over Ft. McHenry and a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Halfway through the Anthem, the screen slowly raised, and there before us was the view above. What an awesome and inspiring sight!
These are the guns that returned fire on the British fleet.
Fifteen stars and fifteen bars represent all the states at the time. Kentucky and Vermont were the two additions to the original thirteen colonies.
This type of cannon, known as a Dahlgren, was added during the Civil War, but never fired in battle. Baltimore straddled a fine line between North and South sympathizers, but the Union presence was too strong for the Rebels to try much of anything.
One of the most touching moments during our trip was watching a naturalization ceremony being conducted in the shadow of the Star Spangled Banner.
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