The Night of the Rockets’ Red Glare
On September 13 and 14, 1814, British forces attacked Baltimore. The National Park Service says “the valiant defense of the fort during the Battle of Baltimore on September 13-14, 1814, inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words that became the U.S. national anthem.”
The fort’s commander, Major George Armistead, had prepared for this moment. When he took command in June 1813, the Park Service notes, he “ordered a flag made ‘so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.'”
Our print uses John Bower’s aquatint of the bombardment, made around 1816 and now in the public domain.
Sources: https://www.nps.gov/fomc/ ; https://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/george-armistead.htm (both read Oct 31, 2026).