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Photographer: Allen C. Browne
Taken: September 5, 2015
Caption: Home of the Brave
Additional Description: When war broke out with Great Britain in 1812, Sam Smith was appointed Major General of the Maryland Militia. His spirited command of the defense of Baltimore in 1814 helped American troops repel the invaders on land (the Battle of North Point) and on water (the naval bombardment of Fort McHenry).

The gathering of troops on Hampstead Hill (present day Patterson Park), shown here, was part of an American line of defense that included 16,000 militia and 100 cannons. The British decision to hold their march set the stage for a 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry, an event that inspired Francis Scott Key's immortal poem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.“

Defense of Baltimore-Assembling of the Troops, September 12, 1814 by Thomas Ruckle

This painting hangs in the Maryland Historical Society Museum.
Submitted: September 7, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Database Locator Identification Number: p327672
File Size: 1.383 Megabytes

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