“It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires
of freedom in the minds of men.”
- Samuel Adams
The sun was just coming up over the harbor as a woman
jogged slowly along the waterfront in the Fells Point section of the city.
Seagulls made their way across the horizon against a billowy
background of greyish white clouds promising rain before day’s end. Unlike the desert where we live, the humid
sea air fits like a custom made costume created by a master tailor…its salt
laden scent invigorating as the day began.
A flock of pigeons in an early morning formation noticed me
sitting on the deck and made a hasty breathtaking turn in unison over my head
disappearing into the building warmth. Just across the ‘boat slips’ filled with
varying sized water craft and yachts, two pelicans were perched atop an apartment
building on a pier…sentries watching the water in search of any breakfast delicacy
venturing too close to Its shimmering surface.
A memorable day…
It was July 4th, 2015 and as the day began to
unfold, people would prepare for celebrations marked by family gatherings,
barbecued meats of all sorts, snacks, carbonated soft drinks and beer.
The American Declaration of Independence was not actually
signed on this date in 1776, but rather adopted. The official signing took
place August 2nd, with a straggler or two affixing their signatures
a little later.
While this date celebrates the United States ‘declared
independence,’ freedom from the British was by no means a sure thing. Indeed,
the war of 1812 between the British and this country was so important that, had
the fledgling country NOT defeated the British, Canada might have had an extra
Province or two and everyone in this country might speak with a decidedly
British accent.
This city played an important part in the unfolding theater of the American democratic experiment...
Baltimore plays a
role…
While the Americans did not have a Navy, they commissioned
men who owned small ships, built for speed called Baltimore Clippers. During
the war, these ‘privateers’ wrecked havoc on British commerce by attacking
cargo ships and confiscating their goods. In the northwest portion of Baltimore
harbor stood Fells Point where these ‘Clippers’ were built.
Consequently, the Crown sent Alexander Cochrane, a British
Vice Admiral, to clean up this nest of ‘pirates,’ building these ships and using
Baltimore harbor for protection.
Fort McHenry stood at the narrow opening of the Patapsco River protecting the harbor. It was the only barrier to entry against the powerful British Navy.
On September 12th, 1812 an armada of British
ships anchored 2 miles off the shores of Fort McHenry and at six the next
morning commenced a 25-hour cannon and rocket barrage. While both sides
armament had the range against their enemy, neither side’s arsenal was
particularly accurate. During the night
of the 13th the weather was stormy making the British bombardment
even less effective.
On the 14th with the Fort still intact and
unwilling to surrender, Cochrane fearing he would run out of ammunition, made
the decision to cease his attack and withdraw – the harbor saved.
Providence, you've got to love it...
At the same time, an attorney from Washington by the name of
Francis Scott Key, had come to Baltimore to negotiate the release of a
prominent Baltimore physician William Beanes being held prisoner aboard the
British ship HMS Tonnant.
Successfully negotiating Beanes release, Key and Beanes were
placed on a small American ship held by the British until after the siege of
the fort. It was from this ship, anchored 8 miles away from Fort McHenry that Key
watched the battle unfold and end.
Following the bombardment, Major George Amistead, commander
of McHenry, order the raising of a 32’x40’ (9.7x12m) recently commissioned American flag.
The flag was so large, Key was able to see it from his vantage point.
These events inspired him to write a poem titled: Defence
of Fort McHenry. It was four stanzas
long recounting what he had witnessed and how seeing the flag across the bay
moved him.
Some time thereafter the poem was set to music borrowed
from Englishman John Stafford Smith's song called: ‘The Anacreontic
Song” - the musical theme of the Anacreontic Society named after the Greek
poet Anacreon.
The song was first adopted by the United States Navy in 1889
to be played at the raising of the flag, and given its official place in the
American narrative by Congressional resolution on March 3rd 1931. The
music and lyrics became what we now consider the National Anthem of the United
States: The Star Spangled Banner!
Morning to evening…
It is with this backdrop, in this city I drank a cup of
morning coffee from the deck overlooking Baltimore harbor, on the Patapsco
River, surrounded by a history fraught with intrigue and the hand of providence.
As the day ended and darkness shrouded Baltimore’s inner
harbor, I stood the deck once again watching fireworks – “…the rockets red
glare, the bombs bursting in air…” – with a sense of awe and appreciation for
this historical event and the opportunity to celebrate it in Baltimore steeped so rich
in the tapestry of American history.
Wherever you were on July 4th this year; however
you celebrated the day; whoever you celebrated it with; and whatever you did to
celebrate it, take a moment to remember those brave men and women who fought
and died protecting our freedom on this date in history, for those who
continued the fight into the 1800s, and for those who fight to this day ensuring our continued freedoms and way of life…
- ted
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