What is the name of the British rocket used at the Battle of Baltimore?

The British rocket used at the Battle of Baltimore was the Congreve rocket.

Developed by British inventor William Congreve in the early 19th century, the weapon was an iron-cased military rocket propelled by gunpowder. It could carry an explosive or incendiary warhead and was launched from land frames or specialized ships. British forces used these rockets during the 1814 bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor.

The rockets were fired from the rocket vessel HMS Erebus, alongside mortar shells and cannon fire from other British ships. Their red, fiery trails helped inspire Francis Scott Key’s famous phrase “the rockets’ red glare” in the poem that became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The bombardment lasted roughly 25 hours, but the rockets caused little decisive damage to the heavily defended fort.

A common mix-up is calling them “bazookas.” The bazooka was a much later American anti-tank weapon developed during World War II. Congreve rockets were unguided black-powder weapons of the Napoleonic era, valued as much for intimidation and incendiary effects as for accuracy.