- Joined
- May 3, 2013
- Location
- Pennsylvania
Perhaps not a 'Forgotten' Fort, but one whose connections to the Civil War are not well known.
Yesterday I continued my Civil War history tour of the Baltimore area with a trip to Fort McHenry. When you mention Fort McHenry first thoughts snap to the War of 1812 and the Star Spangled Banner, but it has links to Civil War history as well. Some of those links relate directly to its earlier heritage, while others relate strictly to the Civil War. I will post a number over the next several days.
Major George Armistead
The name of Major George Armistead is not widely known and even those who recognize him as the commander of Fort McHenry during the British bombardment know little else about him. Prior to visiting the fort I was aware that before the bombardment Armistead was probably the only person that knew that Fort McHenry’s bombproof magazine wasn’t. I also knew that he was the uncle of Brigadier General Lewis Armistead of Pickett’s Charge fame.
Major Armistead’s assignment to the command that defined his life was a matter of chance. One of five brothers, George had enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1799 and gradually rose to the rank of Major. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Fort George on the Niagara Frontier in May, 1813 and as a result was rewarded by being designated to carry the captured British battle flags back to Washington. Upon his arrival President Madison assigned him command of Fort McHenry as the British Navy had already begun operations inside Chesapeake Bay and men qualified to command defenses were in short supply.
Upon arriving in Baltimore in June, 1813, Armistead took up residence in the commanding officer’s quarters inside the fort and immediately began preparing it for the attack that would come. Among his preparations was the acquisition of "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance". Lack of privacy and small stuffy attic bedrooms were not suitable for his wife, Louisa, and young daughter, Mary, so the family found other living arrangements in town. She must have visited occasionally as she was expecting a second child by the spring of 1814.
Armistead's Quarters were on the first floor of the building shown. In 1814 it was only one story high and the bedrooms were in the attic.
The story of the British bombardment on September 13 -14, 1814 and the writing of The Star Spangled Banner is well known so I won’t repeat it here. Major Armistead, the hero of the day, was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel and presented with a silver bowl in the pattern of a bomb shell with accompanying goblets and salver. He was also permitted to keep the flag that flew over the fort. It remained in the family for years until it was donated to the Smithsonian. It was not George Armistead’s fate to live long and proper. Weakened from his strenuous efforts on the frontier and in preparing Fort McHenry for battle, he never recovered his strength and died at the age of 38 on April 25, 1818. He is buried in Old Saint Paul’s Cemetery in Baltimore beside Louisa, who lived into 1861.
How, you may ask, does this tie in too the Civil War? General Lewis Armistead is the first and obvious answer. Following his death in the Battle of Gettysburg Armistead’s body was brought to Baltimore and buried in the family plot at Old Saint Paul’s where it remains today. The second tie-in is Louisa Armistead. Louisa was entering the final stages of her pregnancy as the British rampaged about the Chesapeake, seized and burned Washington City and threatened Baltimore. The family decided to send Louisa and Mary inland to find a place of safety until the danger had passed. The place they chose was Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where George and Louisa’s second daughter, Margaret was born on September 15, 1814, as the British fleet was sailing away from Baltimore.
Yesterday I continued my Civil War history tour of the Baltimore area with a trip to Fort McHenry. When you mention Fort McHenry first thoughts snap to the War of 1812 and the Star Spangled Banner, but it has links to Civil War history as well. Some of those links relate directly to its earlier heritage, while others relate strictly to the Civil War. I will post a number over the next several days.
Major George Armistead
The name of Major George Armistead is not widely known and even those who recognize him as the commander of Fort McHenry during the British bombardment know little else about him. Prior to visiting the fort I was aware that before the bombardment Armistead was probably the only person that knew that Fort McHenry’s bombproof magazine wasn’t. I also knew that he was the uncle of Brigadier General Lewis Armistead of Pickett’s Charge fame.
Major Armistead’s assignment to the command that defined his life was a matter of chance. One of five brothers, George had enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1799 and gradually rose to the rank of Major. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Fort George on the Niagara Frontier in May, 1813 and as a result was rewarded by being designated to carry the captured British battle flags back to Washington. Upon his arrival President Madison assigned him command of Fort McHenry as the British Navy had already begun operations inside Chesapeake Bay and men qualified to command defenses were in short supply.
Upon arriving in Baltimore in June, 1813, Armistead took up residence in the commanding officer’s quarters inside the fort and immediately began preparing it for the attack that would come. Among his preparations was the acquisition of "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance". Lack of privacy and small stuffy attic bedrooms were not suitable for his wife, Louisa, and young daughter, Mary, so the family found other living arrangements in town. She must have visited occasionally as she was expecting a second child by the spring of 1814.
Armistead's Quarters were on the first floor of the building shown. In 1814 it was only one story high and the bedrooms were in the attic.
The story of the British bombardment on September 13 -14, 1814 and the writing of The Star Spangled Banner is well known so I won’t repeat it here. Major Armistead, the hero of the day, was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel and presented with a silver bowl in the pattern of a bomb shell with accompanying goblets and salver. He was also permitted to keep the flag that flew over the fort. It remained in the family for years until it was donated to the Smithsonian. It was not George Armistead’s fate to live long and proper. Weakened from his strenuous efforts on the frontier and in preparing Fort McHenry for battle, he never recovered his strength and died at the age of 38 on April 25, 1818. He is buried in Old Saint Paul’s Cemetery in Baltimore beside Louisa, who lived into 1861.
How, you may ask, does this tie in too the Civil War? General Lewis Armistead is the first and obvious answer. Following his death in the Battle of Gettysburg Armistead’s body was brought to Baltimore and buried in the family plot at Old Saint Paul’s where it remains today. The second tie-in is Louisa Armistead. Louisa was entering the final stages of her pregnancy as the British rampaged about the Chesapeake, seized and burned Washington City and threatened Baltimore. The family decided to send Louisa and Mary inland to find a place of safety until the danger had passed. The place they chose was Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where George and Louisa’s second daughter, Margaret was born on September 15, 1814, as the British fleet was sailing away from Baltimore.
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