Fort McHenry

ON the Wedensday before Labor Day, our homeschool group took a fieldtrip to our local jewel, Fort McHenry birthplace of the Star Spangeled Banner. It was a lovely day, for a great trip.








we did this as a self-guided visit since field trips don;t officially start till after Labor Day. But the rangers do a talk everyday, and usually don;t have anyone to listen. Well today they where thrilled to have 5o kids eagerly follow and listen to the story of the battle of 1814. They asked great questions, and the ranger, was glad to have such an eager group.- he said the ps kids rarely ask a question at all, and tend to be a bit disruptive to the program,-.







the soldiers quarters, and the jail for prisoners of war. We had a few ourselves that day:-)




Since we had a huge group with us- over 5o kids plus adults- the rangers brought out the big flag 42'x33', for the flag program it was a lot of fun. The ranger told many interesting facts about the flag that was flown over the fort during the battle of 1814- it was the same size as this one-. I wondered about the lady- Mary Pickersgill- who made it in her small Baltimore townhouse, and the logistics of fitting such ahuge flag inside and working on it. Had to be quite a challenge.And the fact she and her helpers never gave up and did this huge flag by hand in two months is amazing.





we had a wonderful time exploring the fort and learning about its history. we are hoping to go again for Defenders Day when they reenact the battle at the fort.