Existing comment:
Civil War Guardhouse:
Fort McHenry has had several guardhouses. This one, built in 1835 and enlarged in 1857, is one of the best-preserved buildings in the star fort. Soldiers on duty in this room guarded military offenders in the adjacent sells.
During the Civil War, Fort McHenry served as a transfer point for Confederate prisoners of war, most of whom were kept in buildings and stockades outside the star fort. High-security prisoners were locked up here.
In the city, civil rights were suspended at times during the turbulent war years. Citizens suspected of contributing to the rebellion were detained at Fort McHenry. Political prisoners included Baltimore's mayor and chief of police, Washington's mayor, and -- ironically -- a grandson of Francis Scott Key.
"There was no bedstead of chair, there being no room for such luxuries. I was allowed a mattress, which I placed on the damp floor at eight, and stood up on and against the wall in the day. I was not allowed bed linen. At no time were the walls of my cell (dry), the rear wall particularly. Moisture trickled down it the whole time, and I could fill my hand with a green slime, simply by passing it up the face of the wall."
-- Henry Brogden, Confederate prisoner, 1863 |