During the war of 1812, on September 12th of 1914, the British attempted to sieze Baltimore (having already captured Washington D.C. and burned the White House). Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer, was aboard one of the British ships attacking Fort McHenry. On the morning of September 14th, the British withdrew, having been unable to take the fort. The flag that was flying today was indentical in size and design that Key saw on that morning, inspiring him to write the poem that later became the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem.

Fascinating visit.

Philadelphia was wonderful. I’d have to say that visiting Independence Hall for the first time was certainly the highlight of my visit and certainly one of the highlights of this trip. It was an amazing place – the actual building and room (not a reproduction) where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed.

But, time to move on. Today I drive to Alexandria, Virginia where I’ll spend the next four nights. For the three days there, I’ll take the Metro train into DC. It’s really a great way to visit DC. The Alexandria hotels are cheaper than downtown DC and the train ride is about 20 minutes or so. After a full day of walking, sitting on the train back to my hotel will be a welcome relief.

Since it’s a relatively short drive, I’m once again going to stop in Baltimore, this time to visit Fort McHenry.