The Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum |
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| 844 E. Pratt St. | |
| Baltimore, MD 21202 | |
| 410-837-1793 | |
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Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | |
| What's nearby: | |
When Major George Armistead arrived at Fort McHenry in 1813, he found the fort in tip-top shape -- with one exception. The fort needed a flag. But not just any flag. As Armistead told a fellow officer, "...it is my desire to have a flag so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance."
That officer took Armistead's orders to Mary Young Pickersgill, a Baltimore maker of "Silk Standards & Cavalry Colors, and other Colors of every description" at No. 60 Albemarle Street. Pickersgill, with the help of her daughter, her mother and two nieces, worked for weeks by candlelight sewing the flag that Armistead had ordered. Since it was too large to fit in her house, Mary Pickersgill spread the 42-foot by 30-foot flag on the floor of a nearby brewery. On August 19, 1813, the 15 stripe and 15 star flag was presented to Armistead.
Now hanging in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Mary Pickersgill's flag was forever immortalized by lawyer/poet Francis Scott Key in his anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner." While he was pleading for the release of a prisoner taken by the British, Key himself was taken prisoner and held during the unsuccessful 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry. During his captivity, Key was inspired to write his famous ode to Pickersgill's flag.
In 1927 (four years before "The Star-Spangled Banner" was made the national anthem), Pickersgill's house was purchased by Baltimore City as a historical site. The house became a national historical site in 1975. The house and adjacent museum contain a large selection of early American art as well as many artifacts from the early 1800s. A permanent exhibit, "Preserv'd Us A Nation," explores the local aspects of the War of 1812. The Flag House has many special events throughout the year, including a celebration of Flag Day in June and of Defender's Day in September. House tours are also available, and living history programs are presented on Saturdays. --Kari Rosenthal
