Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Location	2400 East Fort Avenue Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Coordinates	39°15′48″N 76°34′48″W / 39.2633°N 76.5799°W / 39.2633; -76.5799
Area	43.26 acres (17.51 ha)[1]
Visitors	635,736 (in 2018)[2]
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	www.nps.gov/fomc
U.S. National Monument
Designated	August 11, 1939
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Designated	October 15, 1966
Baltimore City Landmark
Designated	1986

Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy from Chesapeake Bay on September 13–14, 1814.

The fort was built in 1798 and was used continuously by U.S. armed forces through World War I and by the United States Coast Guard in World War II. It was designated a national park in 1925, and, in 1939, was redesignated a U.S. National Monument.

During the War of 1812, an American storm flag, 17 by 25 feet (5.2 m × 7.6 m), was flown over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment of the fort. The flag was replaced early on the morning of September 14, 1814, with a larger American garrison flag, 30 by 42 feet (9.1 m × 12.8 m). The larger flag signaled American victory over the British in the Battle of Baltimore.

The sight of the ensign inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" that was later set to music in the song "To Anacreon in Heaven", which was later known and designated as "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States.