Visit to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, MD

We had a wonderful outing recently to Baltimore area. We visited Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic shrine located at 2400 East Fort Avenue, Baltimore, MD-21230, during this outing. I was thrilled to witness the place where our national anthem was born in the year 1814. This monument has a very old history. The British attacked Baltimore in the year 1814. A few soldiers of American army protected the fort at that time. Major Armistead was in command of the fort at that time.

The Americans fought very bravely on that eventful night of 14^th September in the year 1814. All eyes were on the fort in the morning of 15^th September thinking that they will not be able to see American flag. But, everybody proved wrong and there was our American flag in the sky indicating our victory over the British. Sir Francis Scott Key was so touched by this sight that he scribbled down a poem immediately on an envelope he had been carrying at that time.

This poem was first circulated in the form of handbills in the city of Baltimore. This poem became immensely popular immediately and continued gaining popularity till 20^th century. Later on, "The Star-Spangled Banner" became our official national anthem on March 3, 1931 through an act of Congress. The original flag that was flying on the fort at that time has been kept at a history museum in Washington DC. Fort McHenry is the only place in the USA, where the USA flag is flying today with only 15 stars as against 50 stars in our present flag. There were only 15 states at that time in the USA.

This unique national monument attracts lot of visitors even today. The fort is pentagonal in shape. It has a huge lush green garden facing the sea of the Baltimore. There are statues of an angel and major Armistead here in the garden. There is a visitor's center in the fort. The film showing the history of the fort is shown every 20 minutes starting from 9am everyday. This film is really very touching and tells us about the facts that most of us are not aware of. The film is shown free of charge. There is a model of the fort here, where you can have a total idea on the attack of British.

There are original bomb shells stored and kept here that were fired by the British in the year 1814. There is a souvenir shop at the visitor's center where you can get all types of souvenir items like key chains, national flags etc. The entry fee to the fort is $7 per adult. But if you are above 55 years of age, you can buy a senior citizen card in $10 that can allow you and your group free of charge on any of the national monuments of the USA. This is really a very good deal and I would strongly recommend everybody above 55 years to buy this card. The trip inside the fort takes around one hour and you are able to see the barracks, guns, and all other items used by American soldiers at that time. The view of the sea and the connecting bridges is also eye catching. Once you have taken a tour of the fort, you can have a nice picnic lunch here in the attached garden. There is a small food/drinks shop also available in the visitor's center. The fort remains open on all days throughout the year and a place that every American must visit to pay the tribute to our national heroes of that time. The original write up of the national anthem is also available here written in the handwriting of Sir Francis Scott Key.

The layout of entire fort is breathtaking and we all enjoyed it immensely. This is the place every American should be proud of. If you have not visited this monument so far, make sure that you visit it during your next visit to Baltimore.