September 13, 2014, marked the 200th anniversary of the major British attack on Baltimore. What was so important about Baltimore two hundred years ago? Over a few decades in the early nineteenth century, Baltimore's population exploded, and it grew from a small town to the third largest city in the young United States. The bicentennial of Maryland's role in the War of 1812 provided a great opportunity to work on developing an accurate map and 3D depiction of the Baltimore cityscape circa 1815, shortly after the famous bombing of Fort McHenry that inspired the words of the U.S. National Anthem. With fundamental support from the Maryland Historical Society and its network of historical scholars, the Imaging Research Center (IRC) at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) spent two years researching how Baltimore would have looked circa 1815. Using primary source documentation from the MdHS Special Collections, the IRC created a bird’s eye view of the city, which includes buildings, wharves, and other structures that defined Baltimore during the economic and population boom that accompanied the height of the harbor's role in commerce, privateering, and shipbuilding. Certain hotspots, such as the home of Mary Pickersgill, the seamstress who sewed the famous 'Star Spangled Banner' flag for Fort McHenry, or the observatory atop of Federal Hill signaling which merchant ships were headed to dock, can be located by tapping thumbnails, and additional information and visuals provided by the Maryland Historical Society can be found by accessing pop-up windows. 
Click on the thumbnail labeled “Fort McHenry” to get started! 1. What is a fort, and what purpose do they have for communities or cities around the world? 2. Why do you think Fort McHenry is placed where it is, in relation to the rest of Baltimore? 3. Why do you think the British attacked Baltimore during the War of 1812? 4. Were the British able to defeat the Americans, by capturing Fort McHenry and the city of Baltimore? 5. Who observed the battle, and how did that person document what they saw? |
Last updated: May 18, 2020