Event record · naval
Baltimore, Maryland · Chesapeake
Bombardment of Fort McHenry
13–14 September 1814
The fort and harbor defenses withstand British bombs, rockets, and a nighttime boat movement.
Participants
- Fort McHenry garrison
- British bomb vessels and rocket ship
- Baltimore harbor defenders
- Francis Scott Key
Outcome
The harbor defenses held and the fleet abandoned the water approach.
Why it matters
A layered defense became inseparable from a flag, a lyric, and later national memory.
Location evidence
39.263, -76.580 · site precision
Coordinates locate the named site, city, or broad region; they do not reconstruct unit movements.
Where it sits in the story
This record belongs to a connected military, political, and human sequence. The chapter supplies causes, consequences, competing perspectives, and the limits of the surviving evidence.
Follow the evidence
Evidence behind this event
- The Bombardment of Fort McHenryNational Park Service · battle study
Fort McHenry and Baltimore's harbor defenses.