And see we did. What I speak of is Fort McHenry, the birthplace of our national anthem. It was only by happenstance that we found ourselves in Baltimore to have this experience.
It was only after I got Lynndee to the U.S. and married her that one of her friends discovered she was here. They grew up and went to school together in the Philippines and her friend had been here in the U.S. for years working as a nurse. Needless to say, her friend was excited to have a reunion and what better way for it to happen than for us to go to Baltimore for the christening of her friend’s child. So off we went, another road trip!
Our road trips have always been full of history as I’ve made it a point to introduce Lynndee and Yogi to the history of their new homeland. Our first trip was to the Washington, D.C. area when we went to, of all things, her university alumni reunion. I was amazed to find out the number of graduates from her hometown university in the Philippines that now call the U.S. home. The following year we went to Atlanta, GA, not only the home of my favorite baseball team the Atlanta Braves, but also the site of a famous Civil War battle. And on our way home from Baltimore, we had the opportunity to stop at another Civil War battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland. But this history jaunt went back to an earlier time in the country’s history, the War of 1812, though in a way it will later have a tie in to the Civil War in a couple of ironic ways.
After burning Washington, the British attacked Baltimore Harbor on Chesapeake Bay, which was defended by Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key was on board a British warship trying to get a prisoner released when the battle started and witnessed the bombardment and was inspired by seeing the flag still waving the following morning and penned a poem on the back of a letter in his pocket, which was later paired with music, becoming our national anthem, though not officially until 1931 when President Herbert Hoover signed a law making it so.
Our visit to the fort began with an adventure. For some reason, TomTom, our GPS, gave us the wrong directions. Either that, or Lynndee typed the address in wrong. Sorry, honey, I had to say that…(“,) We finally found our way there, though, and began our tour. Though part of the National Park Service, there were no guides or park rangers around so we were on our own. But no problem; there were many signs and placards telling the story and many informative displays. I always find it special to be standing on what could be called hallowed ground where history happened. And we spent a couple of hours roaming the site, drinking in the amazing story of those long-ago American patriots, just trying to imagine what it would have been like to see “the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air…” A wonderful experience it was.
As mentioned earlier, there is a link between Fort McHenry and the Civil War. The commander of Fort McHenry was Major George Armistead. He was the uncle to Lewis Armistead who later left the United States Army to become a general in the Confederate Army. If you ever saw the movie Gettysburg, you’ll certainly remember the scene of Pickett’s Charge. Lewis Armistead, portrayed by the late Richard Jordan, is shown leading his men with his hat waving from the tip of his saber, reaching the angle of the stone wall near the copse of trees, as far the rebels made it that day in what came to be known as the High Water Mark of the Confederacy. He was mortally wounded, dying a couple of days later with great regrets at having turned his back on the United States. He was buried in Baltimore beside his uncle, the commander of Fort McHenry.
Another interesting fact is that the fort served as a military prison for Confederate soldiers as well as many Maryland politicians who were suspected of supporting the confederacy. And in a true piece of historical oddity, one such political detainee was the anthem’s author Francis Scott Key’s grandson, Francis Key Howard. It gets no more ironic than that.
As a historical aside, just this past November, a Congressional Medal of Honor was awarded to Lt. Alonzo Cushing who was killed on July 3, 1863, during Pickett’s Charge when he refused to leave his artillery unit despite severe wounds. He was defending the very area where General Armistead was cut down. Another fascinating piece of this story of America’s past.
When we finished our exploration of the fort, we went and had lunch, explored the inner harbor of Baltimore and other parts of the city and then visited the Baltimore Aquarium. Thus ended our fun-filled day.
As with all road trips, the next day it was time to hit the road and go home. So we bid our farewells to Lynndee’s friend and her family and headed back to the mountains of North Carolina, taking with us wonderful memories. Thing is, we know we have many more memories to build, and one of them I intend to make happen is to take Lynndee and Yogi to the battlefield at Gettysburg and see the spot where Lewis Armistead and Alonzo Cushing met face-to-face in that war of brother against brother. I’ve been there and seen it, but I want to share it with them and continue my job as an amateur history teacher. For sure, though, I won’t quit my day job.
I love bringing my kids to historical places. My kids are only 7 & 10, so a lot of it is lost on them as it was lost on me at that age.
My kids are a little older now, but they are learning the history and have allot of questions. We have brought them to DC once, and they want to go back to explore some more..
Thank you for this thoughtful historic trip down memory lane. I really enjoyed it!
You’re welcome. And I thank you for reading it. I’m glad you enjoyed it; that’s why I write and share what I love (history), to give people pleasure.
I’ve traveled extensively within Europe but not so much in Canada (where I’m from) and the States. I would LOVE to do a road along the east coast and hit places like Boston, Connecticut, North Carolina..
Well, if you ever make it to North Carolina, give us a call. Never been to Europe but I did do some travel in Canada along with my trips to the Philippines.
I think I commented on this already but I’m not sure if it worked… so here it is again!
I love that you took your kids to a historical site! I hope they appreciated the history and learned something new!
They had a blast and definitely leard a lot.
We were just to Gettysburg over the summer of 2014. I had my Hubs all over those battlefields.
I love Gettysburg. I can walk those fields and give commentary on the entire battle for I’ve studied it intensely over the years.
That place seems huge! It’s really interesting to hear about the jails. I can’t believe Francis Scott Key’s grandson was imprisoned there!
Yeah, imagine that, his own bloodline turning his back on the country his grandfather glorified,
My daughter would love to see this place. Maybe someday, we will visit this place.
Have never been there yet. What a beautiful place full of history!
That is awesome she was able to connect with friends from the Philippines! What a fun road trip for the whole family!
Yes, she’s been very lucky in connecting with people from her home country. She actually has kin folk living in New Jersey and other friends around the country which we hope to visit soon.
I really love history, this would be a great place to go and visit some day; I could learn a lot there!
Historial places are so wonderful. Way back, I was never interested in it – but now I really appreciate it much more.
I like to visit these kinds of places too. And that is ironic that Francis Scott Key’s grandson was a political detainee!!
Yes, it truly was ironic that his grandson as well as his nephew turned on their country. But Maryland was one of the so-called border states, including Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri. Those states did not secede from the Union but did remain slave states and did not actively support the Union’s war against the confederacy. In Maryland, though, there were many supporters of the confederacy, one apparently being Key’s grandson, and there were also many southern spies.
I would one day love to visit the states, you guys have so many cooler places to visit. I am sure we in the UK do too just never been an explorer but 2015 is a year of joy and change
As for me, I would love to explore your part of the world; the UK is where my ancestors came from, Scotland and Ireland.
Looks like an amazing family trip. My husband said he went with his dad when he was younger and it was a really good time.
What a great opportunity it is to be able to share the history of our country with them. I hope they enjoy it!
Yes, they certainly did enjoy it and are looking forward to even more historic trips.
I one day would love to visit all of the states. I am slowly adding more to my list.
We love taking trips to old forts and historical grounds. This reminds me of Fort Knox.
Wow!!! Sounds like y’all had a great trip!!! I visited back when I was in middle school 🙂
Travel is the best teacher, and whenever possible, I take my kids. This was very informative and ajoyrful remeidner of what we can learn on the road.
Thank you; I’m glad you enjoyed it.
One day, i like to visit this kind of historic place, is a great opportunity to know there is great place to this entire world..