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place record

Baltimore Harbor · Maryland

Fort McHenry

Harbor fort and national memory site

Fort McHenry and supporting batteries denied the British water approach during the September 1814 attack.

Why this record matters

The fort mattered as one element of a layered defense; its later symbolic prominence should not erase the earthworks, harbor batteries, and labor behind it.

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Evidence behind this record

  1. The Bombardment of Fort McHenryNational Park Service · battle study

    Fort McHenry and Baltimore's harbor defenses.

  2. The Star-Spangled BannerSmithsonian National Museum of American History · object record

    Object history, dimensions, material, and conservation.