Ft. McHenry

On day number 2 without power and a heat index well over 105 degrees we abandoned our oven of a home and went to Baltimore.  We took a water taxi from Inner Harbor to Ft. McHenry.

What should have been an uneventful ride on the water got a little scary when we spotted a body floating in the water. The boat approached and thankfully it was a dummy that the crew heroically rescued. Apparently, the coast guard was conducting man overboard drills.  Nash was a tad traumatized, since he already has a boat phobia. He was convinced we were going to hit an iceberg.

Ft. McHenry was particularly important during the War of 1812, when the new nation had to prove themselves against Great Britain once again.  In June of 1814 the British began the siege of Baltimore.  An attorney named Francis Scott Key was sent aboard an enemy ship to try to negotiate the release of some American prisoners.  While aboard, the British began attacking Ft. McHenry.  The bombardment lasted all night and it wasn't until "dawns early light" that Key would know if the U.S. fort had withstood the British canons.  When he saw the flag being raised over Ft. McHenry he knew that the British were unsuccessful and it was then that he wrote The Star Spangled Banner.

Visiting the fort was a great precursor to the 4th of July.  We were able to watch them fire canons and explore the fort for most of the afternoon.