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CHAPTER SIXTEEN WAR OF 1812
BALTIMORE & FORT McHENRY79 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today,” Exodus 14:13. KJV BALTIMORE: Fort McHenry was located three miles outside Baltimore. The fort guarded the entrance to the city and its harbor. Merchants of the city created a man-made barricade by sinking their own ships across the harbor. These sunken ships prevented the enemy from sailing up to Baltimore. Everyone joined in to dig at least a mile of entrenchments to protect the city. At noon on Sunday September 11, the warning cannon was fired. By 7 P.M., that evening 50 British ships were seen heading up the Chesapeake toward Baltimore. As the enemy ships drew closer, 4,000 British troops began their march across land toward the city. Again it appears that God was providentially watching over the Americans for the sun became so hot that many of the British troops died by the side of the road because of heat and exertion. Then suddenly, an American sniper shot and killed General Robert Ross. As the news of Ross’ death spread through the ranks, the army fell into shambles and became no real threat to Baltimore. FORT MCHENRY: On September 13, the British fleet approached the fort and the bombardment of Fort McHenry began at dawn. This bombardment would soon become the most powerful destructive force man had ever known. From 1,800-2,000 190 pound cast iron bombs and 700-800 rockets were shot at the fort. The explosions were so immense that the houses of the city in Baltimore, 3 miles away, were shaken to their foundations. Never, from the invention of cannons to that day were such a number of pieces fired in such rapid succession. A Georgetown lawyer by the name of Francis Scott Key watched the bombardment from an American truce ship eight miles away. Key had gone to the British ships to obtain the release of a friend. Before his ship could leave, the bombing of Fort McHenry began and he was trapped. He was held spellbound and at the same time horrified as he observed the spectacle before him. As stated, from 1,800 to 2,000 190 pound cast iron bombs and from 700 to 800 rockets were thrown at the fort, but out of that number, only one bomb made a direct hit on the powder storehouse. There were, at the time, over a quarter million pounds of powder being stored at that location. This was the main powder storehouse for defense of the Baltimore area. If this storehouse had blown, the entire fort would have been destroyed. If the fort had been destroyed the city would have probably fallen. If the city had fallen, perhaps the nation would have fallen back under the control of England. God was merciful. Though the sky over Fort McHenry was ablaze with rocket fire, the one shell that hit the storehouse failed to ignite. The British navy kept up its bombardment all day and all night. That night God caused the rain to fall in torrents and the thunder to roll. It made the people wonder if He wasn’t showing His distain for the British. Francis Scott Key walked back and forth on the deck of his ship most of the night. As the sky began to clear the next morning, Key saw the flag flying over the fort. He took paper from his pocket and wrote: “Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight o’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” Key’s poem entitled “The Defense of Fort McHenry” was printed on hand bills and distributed throughout Baltimore a few days after the battle. By November, the poem had become a song which was published as “The Star Spangled Banner.” Congress officially approved the song as our national anthem in 1931. (Eight years before your author was born.) After 25 hours of constant bombardment from British ships and continuous return of fire from the Americans, there was silence. Then, mysteriously, one British warship after another raised its sails and quietly slipped away.80 
Study Guide Chapter Sixteen 1. Do you believe there are times when we are facing problems that all we should do is sit back and wait patiently for the Lord to act? Consider Exodus 14:13. 2. What was the name of the fort that guarded the entrance to Baltimore? 3. How did the merchants of Baltimore keep the British ships from entering the harbor? 4. What action did the old and young, white and black take to protect Baltimore? 5. Why was the cannon fired at noon on (9-11) September 11? 6. What was seen on the Chesapeake at seven that evening? 7. How many British ships came to attack Baltimore? 8. As the British ships came up the Chesapeake, what other offensive moves did the British take? 9. How many soldiers did the British send on foot to conquer Baltimore? 10. How did God providentially weaken the British troops as they marched toward Baltimore? 11. What one event did more to stop the marching troops than anything else? 12. How many bombs did the British ships shoot at Fort McHenry? 13. How many rockets did the British ships shoot at Fort McHenry? 14. What did the bombs fired at Fort McHenry do to the houses in Baltimore? 15. At what event in history, up to and including that September 14, 1814, was the most amount of bombs shot? 16. What was Francis Scott Key doing on a British ship? 17. How much powder was being stored in the storehouse at Fort McHenry? 18. How many bombs hit the powder storehouse? 19. What event, regarding the powder storehouse, illustrated the providence of God? 20. As though to show God’s disdain for the British bombardment, what did God providentially do? 21. Write out, quote, or sing the words Francis Scott Key wrote that night. 22. What mysterious thing happened at the end of the 25 hours of constant bombardment?
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