The red brick fortification at Fort McHenry has a central arched entrance with white doors and windows, three cannons on carriages in the foreground, and a two-story frame building with a balcony at right. The grassy parade ground and clear sky set off the fort's walls. Fort McHenry guarded Baltimore's harbor in the War of 1812, and its defense in September 1814 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became "The Star-Spangled Banner." The site is preserved as a national monument and historic shrine.
Fort McHenry National Monument, Baltimore, MD, 1950, postcard, c. 1950. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/fort-mchenry-national-monument-baltimore-md-1950. Accessed November 2, 2026.
