The Star Spangled Spectacular part 1

As children we are taught to sing the very challenging melody and oddly poetic words of our national anthem. "Oh say can you see?" Yes, we learn that it was written by Francis Scott Key, and yes we knew he was looking out onto some harbor where the 'bombs were bursting in air'. But what war, and who was fighting, and where- now that was something I never got straight.

How startling to learn that right in my own backyard, to the east of the tunnel that I drive through on my way to Silver Spring and back again, was the Fort where the battle was fought fiercely in a war that is rarely discussed. It was at Ft. McHenry, in defense of Baltimore, the 3rd largest city in the US, that 1200 soldiers fought off the most powerful navy in the world-the British. The war was eventually called The War of 1812 and in 1814, the British bombarded this entrance to Baltimore for 25 hours.
As it turns out Francis Scott Key was being held in detention, where he watched the 19th C. version of 'Shock and Awe',  where as part of the tension that  mounted overnight,   'o'r the ramparts watched', then saw 'that our flag was still there'. He chose to couple his soaring words with a melody that was well known because it was a drinking song written for the Anacreonitic Socity,    "an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven 
Surprisingly, the song became an instant hit throughout the states, renamed on the advice of his uncle, from "The Battle of Fort McHenry" to "The Star Spangled Banner".

And so we, on Sept 13 2014  exactly 200 years later, walk around Ft. McHenry, listening to music from then and now that includes the Washington Revels, and a Navy rock band. Then we  stroll to the waters edge to view the Blue Angels air show, whose pilots in the sleek jets weave across the sky at 600 miles an hour. But the star of the day is the fort and the flag. How joyous to arrive inside the fort just as the enthusiastic ranger lowers the small flag, then instructs a group of 20 or so on folding it.  Out then comes the replica of the flag that is to be flown later that night. As we hold it, unfurl it, and put it back safely, I feel a surge of pride.

The uniforms of this era are more tailored and fay compared to those just 40 years later. The men's hats of no practical use, the long waistcoats as well. My brother asks one of the 'soldiers' about the functionality of the hats to which we are treated to a personal tour of the officers' quarters room, where he shares  how he learned that his relative had served at Ft. McHenry.

Ft. Delaware and Ft. Mott part 1

Where the Delaware River meets the Bay is an area that holds great significance in the defense of Pennsylvania during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th C. There, two  forts hug the coastline, one nearly invisible, the other a brick fort within a stone fortress. Tony and Francine and I drive to Ft. Mott. With time to explore while we wait for the ferry to Ft. Delaware, walk the parapet of Ft. Mott, looking out over the vast expanse of the Delaware River.

Especially  amazing to us are the varieties of the  mechanical machinery designed to bring the heavy artillery shells by railway cart to a lift used to raise the  shells up to the ramparts where they are slid into the casings. The communications systems, a complex web of human and technological devices include something akin to a 19th C fax machine.

There is enough to keep us interested for nearly two hours as we wonder through the storerooms and behind the parapet to see the parados, which is a secondary defense hill built in case of attack from the rear. As an additional deterrent to enemy encroachment from the back, the moat is filled with the sewage from the 'earth closets', rooms with actual toilets whose refuse drains right into the moats behind the parados.


Among the artifacts are original shells and the lift mechanism that brings them up to the top





We board the DelaFort ferry, a 20 minute ride that takes us to the other side of Pea Patch Island where we can see the entrance to Ft. Delaware. At first look from the ferry the fort seems massive, a large square granite structure.

The ferry, the DelaFort takes us on a pleasant ride under blue skies and 80 degree temperature. We can see the square stone fort from the boat. surrounded by marsh that we drive through on the tram once we get off the ferry. that is cut by muskrat trails. Bill Cooper meets us in front of the fort to give us some information mostly about bats. There is a lot information about the disease that has infested the bats of the area. A lot of information.


The prisoners lived in barracks outside the fort, 3 levels of bunks that held 120 soldiers who had a scratchy blanket and a wood stove in the middle of the room to keep them warm. The prison had the reputation  as being the 'Andersonville of the north". Andersonville was the notorious southern prison with intolerable conditions, so to make this comparison is quite dramatic. On this benign day of sun and warmth and good friendship it was hard to imagine the depredation of the conditions there. For example, union deserters imprisoned there were made to wear a ball and chain as the walked around the camp. Food, though existent, was rancid, slimy, inedible. Conditions spread disease; more than 2400 men died there.