Commanding Officer’s Quarters

The rooms on the left end of this building stood as a separate structure during the 1814 period and served as the residence of Major George Armistead, commanding officer and “Hero of Fort McHenry.” Armistead directed the successful defense of Fort McHenry in 1814 and ordered the making of a large flag to defy the attacking British, the same flag that inspired Francis Scott Key. Armistead’s wife Louisa and their two year-old daughter probably did not stay there often because there was little privacy and the attic bedrooms were too hot to use in summer. At the time of the British bombardment, the family was evacuated to Gettysburg, where Louisa gave birth to a daughter one day after the American victory there. Armistead’s tireless efforts at Fort McHenry left him exhausted and unable to regain his health, and he died in 1818.

Baltimore, Maryland · United States