Historic American Builders Survey: Architectural Study of Fort McHenry
Nelson LH. 1961. Historic American Builders Survey: Architectural Study of Fort McHenry. Historic Structure Report. National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Constructed between 1798 and 1800, Fort McHenry is a bastioned pentagon fort built to defend the Baltimore Harbor. In the War of 1812, the Fort withstood British bombardment during the Battle of Baltimore, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write The Star Spangled Banner, national anthem of the United States. The Fort would later serve as a military prison during the Civil War, army hospital in World War I, and Coast Guard base in World War II. This architecturally-oriented study is limited to the physical history of the “star fort” and its successor, the pentagonal fort, on Whetstone Point, Baltimore, from 1776 to 1857. Later changes, though interesting, are not included since the fort and buildings have not undergone any structural change since that date. This study does not deal with the outworks or outer buildings, nor is it concerned with general historic events, except as they affected the construction and the alteration of the fort.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Nelson, Lee
- Date of Issue
- 1961-01
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Department of the Interior
- Units
- FOMC , HIST , NER
- Keywords
- Architecture, bastioned pentagon, Civil War, Cultural Resources, ehistory, fort, Fort McHenry, Fort Whetstone, History, magazine, Military, Preservation, Star Fort, war, War of 1812, World War I, World War II