Existing comment:
Evolution of Fort McHenry:
After the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. Fort McHenry continued as a military post for more than a hundred years. The US Army constructed buildings outside the star fort and modified existing structures to serve the needs of the time.
During the Civil War, the lawn in front of you was the site of a detection center for Confederate prisoners of war. In the next century, as World War I came to an end, the fort property was transformed into a huge hospital complex to care for soldiers returning from duty overseas.
Fort McHenry became a National Park in 1925 and in 1939 became a National Monument and Historic Shrine. Today the National Park Service preserves and interprets historic structures that remain.
The cannon mounted around the fort were not here when "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written in 1814. They date to the post-Civil War period. None were fired in battle, although some were kept operational as late as the early 1900s. |