Existing comment:
Baltimore's Defenders:
"The Association of Old Defenders of Baltimore in 1814"
The citizen soldiers who defended Baltimore from the British during the War of 1812 became honored veterans in middle age. Their names scroll down the side of the monument and represent the first example of commemoration for citizen soldiers rather than famous military figures. Over 1,000 of those "defenders" formed an official "association" in 1842. They met on Defenders' Day every September and gained increasing public attention for their contributions to the nation. As they grew older, their tales of military heroics at North Point and Fort McHenry became legendary. In 1884, the dwindling number of Old Defenders disbanded an in 1892 their descendants organized the Society of the War of 1812. Cecil County native and North Point veteran Elijah Bouldin Glenn may have been the last defender when he died in 1898 at 102 years of age. |