Fort McHenry inspired the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner” after the 1814 bombardment.
The fort guarded the entrance to Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. During the Battle of Baltimore, British forces bombarded it from the sea on September 13–14, 1814, as part of the War of 1812.
Francis Scott Key watched the attack from a ship offshore. At dawn, he saw the American flag still flying above the fort, signaling that the defenders had held their position. He began composing the poem that became the national anthem.
The fort’s name is sometimes confused with Fort Sumter, the South Carolina site attacked at the start of the American Civil War. Fort McHenry remained associated with the War of 1812 and the anthem’s origin. It is now preserved as Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.