Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

Baltimore's Fort McHenry is part of the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail.

NPS photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C.

Significance:

Traces the routes and locations of the Chesapeake Bay campaign of the War of 1812.

Designation:

National Historic Trail

During the War of 1812, the Chesapeake Bay was the site of British military raids and the hub of American privateers who harassed British shipping. In the summer of 1814, a British invasion force entered the bay, captured and burned Washington D.C., and attempted to subdue Baltimore. 

The successful defense of Batlimore at Fort McHenry inspired the words that became America's national anthem, and caused the British to abandon their Chesapeake Bay campaign. The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail marks and interprets numerous sites associated with the War of 1812 in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. and the military campaign that culminated in the birth of "the Star-Spangled Banner."

Learn more about the Trail at www.nps.gov/stsp.