Bombardment of Fort McHenry

13–14 September 1814, Patapsco River, Baltimore

American victory; the fort held and the British withdrew

Three weeks after burning Washington, the British turned on Baltimore. While the army landed at North Point, Vice-Admiral Cochrane brought bomb vessels and the rocket ship Erebus up the Patapsco to silence Fort McHenry, which guarded the harbour. Sunken hulks blocked the channel, so the ships fired from long range, out of reach of the fort's guns, for about twenty-five hours, through a night of rain, sending some 1,500 to 1,800 shells and rockets at the fort. Major George Armistead's garrison of about 1,000 men lost only four killed and 24 wounded. A night attack by boats up the Ferry Branch was driven off, and with the army stopped by the defences on land, the British withdrew. Francis Scott Key, held on a truce ship in the river, saw the great garrison flag still flying at dawn on 14 September and wrote the verses that became "The Star-Spangled Banner".