The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1932-09-22

ing of their oars and lighted a hay
stack to see what the noise meant.
This threw their boats in full view of
Fort McHenry, the City Battery and
Fort Covington further up the river
and the terrific cross fire from these
batteries prevented the enemy from
making a landing and forced them to
return hurriedly to their ships.
1t was this diversion in the rear of
Fort McHenry that made Francis
Scott Key think that the fort had fall
len. Key had gone to the British
fleet, under a flag of truce, to plead
for the release of his friend, DR..
Beanes, but both men were transfer
red to their own vessel under a guard
of marines to prevent them from
landing until after the attack on Bal
timore. The American cartel was an
chored with the transports near Spar
rows Point, but in full view of the ar
tillery duel, and Key was anxiously
pacing its deck when dawn broke and
showed the flag still waving from
Fort McHenry. In the patriotic fer
vor Of the moment he wrote the lines
of the National Anthem.
Withdrawing their army before
daylight on September IA, the British
troops went back to their transports,
while their navy stopped its bonn
bardment about o'clock in the morn
ing and sullenly joined them and be-
gan to sail away.
! Fort McHenry was defended by
1000 men commanded by Col. George
Armistead, who were accounted for
as follows: One company of United
States Artillery (Capt. Frederick
Evans) and one company Baltimore
Fencibles (Capt. ]. H. Nicholson)
manned the guns of the Star Fort,
while the upper batteries outside the
fort walls were manned by one COM
pany of Baltimore Independent Artil-
lerists (Capt. Charles Pennington),
one company Washington Artillerists
of Baltimore (Capt. John Berry,, two
companies of Barney's Sea Fencibles
(Capts. M. S. Bunbury and William
H. Addison), with another company
of Sea Fencibles Lieutenant Rod
MANI in the water battery along the
shore. Six hundred United States
Infantry under the command of
Col. w. Steuart and Major S. Lane
were stationed in the moat between
the walls of the Star Fort and the
upper batteries to oppose any landing
that the enemy might attempt to
make.
The regular armament Of the Star
Fort was composed of twenty-four
Founders, four of which we're placed
on each bastion. The strength Of the
outer batteries, however, was increas-
ed with guns Of various calibre by
Commodore John Rodgers, who had
charge of the general artillery de-
tense of the city, while the forty-two-
pound guns, which had been borrowed
from a French frigate that lay at
Despeaux's wharf, were used in the
water batteries. These guns matched
the heaviest guns on the British feet
and as many of Barney's Sea Fenci-
bles had served aboard the privateers
out of Baltimore and were familiar
with naval maneuvering, they knew
how to use these guns to the discom-
fort of the British ships and prevented
them from taking closer and more
effective positions.
What is now Fort McHenry was
first started as battery of eighteen
guns, which were mounted by the
people of Baltimore on Milestone
Point as a defense against a posi-
BILE attack by the British who were
operating in the Chesapeake in March
of 1776. When another war with
Great Britain was expected in 1894,
President Washington ordered the
cities along the seaboard to strength
en- their defenses and Baltimore re-
sponded by engaging Major ]. ]. Ul-
rich Rivardi, who designed the pres
emit Star Fort, in the rear of the old