object record
Print · c. 1819
A View of the Bombardment of Fort McHenry
Early visual interpretation of the bombardment
John Bower’s hand-colored print presents bomb vessels, arcing shells, fortifications, and the harbor landscape several years after the event.
Why this record matters
It is not an eyewitness photograph. Used critically, it shows how the bombardment was being visualized within the generation that experienced it.
Follow the evidence
Evidence behind this record
- A View of the Bombardment of Fort McHenryLibrary of Congress · image record
John Bower, approximately 1819; LOC states no known restrictions on publication.