News Content

Celebrating the 200th Birthday of the Baltimore Battle Monument

The Maryland Society hosted a commemoration for the two hundredth anniversary of the Baltimore Battle Monument on September 13, 2025.  The monument endures as a commemoration of the attack on Baltimore by land at North Point and by sea at McHenry and a memorial to those who lost their lives in those battles.

Construction on the Battle Monument began on September 12, 1815, a year to the day after Baltimore repelled the British in the War of 1812 and was completed ten years later. The monument is the official emblem of the City of Baltimore, having been adopted for the city seal in 1827 and appearing on the city flag.  That same year, it contributed to the city’s nickname, “The Monumental City,” bestowed by President John Quincy Adams.   The monument is extraordinary in the history of American monument building, as it is the first public war memorial erected in the United States.   It is also considered to be the first “Egyptian structure” in America, and its combined use of Egyptian and Classical elements in the design is unusual. 

The featured speaker for the one-hour ceremony was the Mayor of Baltimore, the Honorable Brandon M. Scott.  Mayor Scott noted in his address that the monument “represents far more than just the military defenders.  It commemorates all the citizens of Baltimore, men and women, white and black, Christian and Jewish, young and old, who came together to defend their city, a city the British promised would be sacked and burned.  This is not a monument planned by politicians but one demanded by the people of Baltimore.   So that all Baltimoreans could contribute to the monument, it was funded primarily by subscriptions. limited to five dollars per person.  Names of contributors were written in a journal that was placed in the cornerstone of the monument on 13 September 1815.”

Additional speakers included Dr. Julie Shively, historian, Maryland National Guard, and Mrs. Marie Sauter, Superintendent, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

The Maryland Society presented Mayor Scott with a miniature replica of the Monument commissioned especially for this occasion.

Society Dedicates New Fort Covington Historical Marker – 19 October 2024

TWO OF THE ‘LOST FORTS’ of the 1814 British attack on Baltimore were recognized yesterday at a ceremony near Port Covington Marina.

The historical marker to Fort Babcock originally placed nearby in 1914 was relocated to the site of Fort Covington, both of which saw action during the September 1814 naval attack. The historical marker, listed on the Maryland Military Monument list, is the only Baltimore monument dedicated to the U.S. Navy and Chesapeake Flotilla sailors who played a prominent role in the defense of Baltimore. The monument features a cannon used at the Battle of Baltimore which has been restored by the Society of the War of 1812 in Maryland. Reenactors saluted as the monument was unveiled and a cannon fired from the Pride of Baltimore II nearby. Members of the Society on hand for the rededication of the monument included Louis Giles (president), Will Johnson (historian), Bill Emmerich (second vice president), and Brian Alexander (recording secretary).

Read about all 3 “lost forts” in a feature story in the Peninsula Post >> https://sobopost.org/2021/11/28/lostforts/

Maryland Society hosts officers of the War of 1812 General Society – 14 September 2024

The Society of the War of 1812 of Maryland hosted the officers of the General Society of the War of 1812 to our annual celebration of Defender’s Day. Members participated in the annual commemoration of the Battle Monument in Baltimore, marched in the Fort McHenry parade, and toured Fort McHenry.

Society Installs Tombstone for 1812 Veteran Jacob Houck – 28 September 2024

The Society installed a tombstone in Baltimore’s Mount Olivet Cemetery on the grave of 1812 veteran Jacob Houck who, later in life, donated an acre of the land to the State of Maryland where the “Battle of Patapsco Neck” occurred. The Society also participated in the Maryland Daughters of the War of 1812 celebration and installation of a bronze plaque on the grave of Eliza Young Parrish, a niece of Mary Pickersgill, and one of the seamstresses of the Star-Spangled Banner flag.

Maryland Society Recognize Black American War of 1812 Veteran Samuel Neale – 17 July 2024

In partnership with St John’s Cemetery in Frederick. Maryand, the Society unveiled a newly erected gravestone for Samuel Neale. Neale, a steward and later Surgeon’s Mate in Frisby Tilghman’s 1st MD Cavalry during the War of 1812, was the only black American to receive a Maryland pension for his service during the war. Neale was present with his unit during the British march from Benedict, MD to Washington and at the Battles of Bladensburg and North Point. Representatives from the United States Army, the Maryland National Guard, the United States Park Service, the NAACP, local and state officials and members of the public attended the ceremony which was covered by local and national press.

Maryland Society Celebrates the Service of two Maryland 1812 Veterans at Historic New Cathedral Cemetery – 15 June 2024

The Society celebrated the service of Maryland War of 1812 veterans CPT Henry Worthington, Jr. and PVT Michael Jenkins at a ceremony at the historical New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore City. Worthington, a Sailing Master in the Chesapeake Flotilla, captained one of the gun boats protecting the Baltimore harbor adjacent from Fort McHenry. Jenkins served as a Private in the renowned Maryland Fifth regiment and fought bravely at the Battle of Bladensburg and the Battle of Patapsco Neck in Baltimore. (Photo courtesy of Dan Phelan)

Society Hosts Annual Jackson Day General Meeting and Luncheon – 7 January 2024

The Maryland Society of the War of 1812 hosted its annual Jackson Day General Meeting and luncheon at the historic Maryland Club in Baltimore. The meeting was well attended and new officers were selected. Guest speaker Tom McMillan, author of the book “Our Flag Was Still There” provided an excellent presentation on the Armistead family and the journey of the original Star-Spangled Banner from Ft McHenry to the Smithsonian.

See all events