Existing comment:
Patriotism and Place:
Fort McHenry provides a unique touchstone both to the dramatic origins of the National Anthem and to American identity.
Commemorative events were held at the fort immediately after 1814. One such event in 1824 honored Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette in a special ceremony that tied the birth of the nation in 1776 to its preservation during the War of 1812.
When the last active artillery unit left in 1912, the fort's future seemed in doubt. Baltimore safeguarded the fort as a city park, until the army reclaimed it for use as a hospital during World War I. In the struggle to save the fort, local campaigners, led by John Charles Linthicum, a prominent Maryland congressman, kept up the pressure for a commemorative site.
In 1925, Congress made Fort McHenry a national park. Its 1939 redesignation as a "National Monument and Historic Shrine" was unique, reflecting the recognition of the site as a tangible place of ongoing commemoration and special pilgrimage. |