A long Easter weekend, definitely means one thing for me and that is visiting a new place. And this time it was Baltimore, Maryland located along the Patapsco river. The largest city in the Eastern United States; is known for its famous Inner Harbor, National Aquarium and Baseball Stadium at Camden Yards.
City of Baltimore
We went there on 23rd April, Saturday and spent a day exploring the beautiful city. Reached there in the morning at 8 and there began our day and the first pit-stop was Fort McHenry.
Fort McHenry - Built in 1790s, designed in star-shape in order to make surprise attacks impossible, is well known for the Battle of 1812, the Battle of Baltimore. In 1812, the Americans declaration of war against British to preserve 'Free Trade and Sailor's Rights' was carried by the war hawks (groups of congressmen who wanted to annex Canada and Spanish Florida). From then on, for two years, Americans were mostly an annoyance to the British till the Napoleon's defeat in April 1814. But in mid-august, a force of 5000 british soldiers sailed up Chesapeake Bay to give Americans a complete drubbing and burnt Washington in the Battle of Bladensburg.
Now it was the turn of Baltimore, which was better prepared for the invasion, but British succeeded in the Battle of North point and Americans had to withdraw. And next came the attack on Fort McHenry on September 13th , 1814 by the british naval forces and the bombardment continued for 25 hours. Even after repeated attacks, the british ships were not able to pass Fort McHenry and withdrew on September 14th. And the American soldiers fired morning gun and hoisted the flag of victory.
This flag became the 'Star Sprangled Banner' from then on and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the National Anthem of America. So, Fort McHenry is also known as the birthplace of the 'The Star Sprangled Banner'.
Birthplace of Star Sprangled Banner
We went around the fort, saw the huge cannons which are still preserved and the barracks for the soldiers, Junior Officers quarters and the Officer's Quarters. The exhibits looked like they have been kept intact since the day the officers last lived there. The fort was beautiful and we clicked some pretty pictures and bought souvenirs.
Fort McHenry
And yes, it was great to see a place of such Historical importance to this nation. The next destination on the list was Orioles Stadium at Camden Yards.
Fort McHenry - Built in 1790s, designed in star-shape in order to make surprise attacks impossible, is well known for the Battle of 1812, the Battle of Baltimore. In 1812, the Americans declaration of war against British to preserve 'Free Trade and Sailor's Rights' was carried by the war hawks (groups of congressmen who wanted to annex Canada and Spanish Florida). From then on, for two years, Americans were mostly an annoyance to the British till the Napoleon's defeat in April 1814. But in mid-august, a force of 5000 british soldiers sailed up Chesapeake Bay to give Americans a complete drubbing and burnt Washington in the Battle of Bladensburg.
Now it was the turn of Baltimore, which was better prepared for the invasion, but British succeeded in the Battle of North point and Americans had to withdraw. And next came the attack on Fort McHenry on September 13th , 1814 by the british naval forces and the bombardment continued for 25 hours. Even after repeated attacks, the british ships were not able to pass Fort McHenry and withdrew on September 14th. And the American soldiers fired morning gun and hoisted the flag of victory.
This flag became the 'Star Sprangled Banner' from then on and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the National Anthem of America. So, Fort McHenry is also known as the birthplace of the 'The Star Sprangled Banner'.
We went around the fort, saw the huge cannons which are still preserved and the barracks for the soldiers, Junior Officers quarters and the Officer's Quarters. The exhibits looked like they have been kept intact since the day the officers last lived there. The fort was beautiful and we clicked some pretty pictures and bought souvenirs.
And yes, it was great to see a place of such Historical importance to this nation. The next destination on the list was Orioles Stadium at Camden Yards.