The "... bombs bursting in air..." immortalized in our national anthem were not the creation of a poet's imagination. In the 18th and early 19th century the aerial bomb was the most powerful armament known to man.

During the bombardment on September 13 - 14, 1814, an estimated 1,500 bombs and rockets were fired upon Fort McHenry's defenders from His Majesty's bomb ships Volcano, Devastation, Terror, Aetna, and Meteor. These vessels were equipped with a 13-inch and a 10-inch mortar, capable of firing a shell every five minutes. This fragment is a remnant of a 200 pound British 13-inch mortar shell, fired at the Fort by one of the five British bomb ships.*

In February and March of 1966, archeologist John L. Cotter conducted an extensive investigation at Fort McHenry. He was contracted by the National Park Service to research and locate the foundations of several structures dating to the 1812 period which were identified on maps and drawings as being located near the original entrance to the Fort. The goal of Cotter's project was to confirm the locations of these early 19th century structures. While excavating, the team of investigators found this 6½ pound bomb fragment in the remains of the footings of a Tavern that once stood just to the north of the Star Fort. See the site base map.

On this mortar fragment one of the shell's two lifting ears may be seen. Shell tongs on rigging tackle were inserted into this opening in the shell to hoist the shell from the ship's ordnance room up to the gun deck. Here matrosses (artillerymen) prepared the shell and mortar for firing. It took 28 seconds for a bomb to take flight from the ship through the air and then end its fiery arc at Fort McHenry. While in flight it exploded, raining down fragments (like the one shown above) causing injury and destruction on impact.