BOMBARDMENT OF FORT MCHENRY in 1814

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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

BOMBARDMENT OF FORT MCHENRY in 1814

Post by aukepalmhof » Fri May 24, 2019 8:14 pm

The miniature sheet is designed after a painting made by John Brown and shows us many British warships, and so far she are not identified.

Beginning at 6:00 a.m. on September 13, 1814, British warships under the command of Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane continuously bombarded Fort McHenry for 25 hours. The American defenders had 18-, 24- and 32-pounder (8, 11, and 16 kg) cannons. The British guns had a range of 2 miles (3 km), and the British rockets had a 1.75-mile (2.8 km) range, but neither guns nor rockets were accurate. The British ships were unable to pass Fort McHenry and penetrate Baltimore Harbor because of its defenses, including a chain of 22 sunken ships, and the American cannons. The British vessels were only able to fire their rockets and mortars at the fort at the weapons' maximum range. The poor accuracy on both sides resulted in very little damage to either side before the British, having depleted their ammunition, ceased their attack on the morning of September 14. Thus the naval part of the British invasion of Baltimore had been repulsed. Only one British warship, a bomb vessel, received a direct hit from the fort's return fire, which wounded one crewman.
The Americans, under the command of Major George Armistead, lost four killed—including one African-American soldier, Private William Williams, and a woman who was cut in half by a bomb as she carried supplies to the troops—and 24 wounded. At one point during the bombardment, a bomb crashed through the fort's powder magazine. However, either the rain extinguished the fuse or the bomb was a dud.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_McHenry
Antigua & Barbuda 2012 $9 sgMS? , scott?
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FORT McHENRY.jpg
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