The Outer Battery
A 15-inch Rodman gun, together with two 8-inch Rodmans on the left flank of Fort McHenry's Outer Battery.
None of these cast-iron guns were present during the 1814 bombardment, being mounted after the American Civil War and serving until 1912, although never fired in anger! However, the earthen banks have always mounted the Fort's heaviest artillery.
The 15-inch piece required a crew of 14, including four men just to carry each spherical explosive projectile. The gun, a muzzle-loader, weighed over 22 tonnes and required up to 23 kg of powder to fire the 200 kg projectile out to a maximum range of just five kilometres!
Designed by Frenchman Jean Foncin in 1798 and named after James McHenry, a Scots-Irish immigrant and surgeon-soldier who became Secretary of War under President Washington, Fort McHenry was built after America won its independence to defend the important Port of Baltimore from future enemy attacks. It was positioned on Locust Point peninsula which juts into the opening of Baltimore Harbor, and was constructed in the form of a five-pointed star surrounded by a dry moat. The moat would serve as a shelter from which musketmen might defend the fort from a land attack. In case of such an attack on this first line of defence, each point, or bastion, was fortified, so that the invading army would be caught in a crossfire of cannon and musket fire.
Of course, the fort is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from a half-hearted attack by the Royal Navy on 13-14 September 1814. It was during the bombardment of the fort that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner," the poem that would eventually be set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven" and become the national anthem of the United States.
The Outer Battery
A 15-inch Rodman gun, together with two 8-inch Rodmans on the left flank of Fort McHenry's Outer Battery.
None of these cast-iron guns were present during the 1814 bombardment, being mounted after the American Civil War and serving until 1912, although never fired in anger! However, the earthen banks have always mounted the Fort's heaviest artillery.
The 15-inch piece required a crew of 14, including four men just to carry each spherical explosive projectile. The gun, a muzzle-loader, weighed over 22 tonnes and required up to 23 kg of powder to fire the 200 kg projectile out to a maximum range of just five kilometres!
Designed by Frenchman Jean Foncin in 1798 and named after James McHenry, a Scots-Irish immigrant and surgeon-soldier who became Secretary of War under President Washington, Fort McHenry was built after America won its independence to defend the important Port of Baltimore from future enemy attacks. It was positioned on Locust Point peninsula which juts into the opening of Baltimore Harbor, and was constructed in the form of a five-pointed star surrounded by a dry moat. The moat would serve as a shelter from which musketmen might defend the fort from a land attack. In case of such an attack on this first line of defence, each point, or bastion, was fortified, so that the invading army would be caught in a crossfire of cannon and musket fire.
Of course, the fort is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from a half-hearted attack by the Royal Navy on 13-14 September 1814. It was during the bombardment of the fort that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner," the poem that would eventually be set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven" and become the national anthem of the United States.