George Armistead

Powerless, waiting, British ships hurled congreve rockets and mortar shells at the fort, defending Baltimore, the last major American port still standing after Washington's capture.

Major George Armistead commanded the garrison, and before the attack he'd requested an enormous flag, one so large the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance.

30 by 42 feet, 15 stars, 15 stripes.

A Baltimore widow named Mary Pickersgill and her 13-year-old daughter had sewn it by hand.

And eventually, uh, things go partic- really quiet, and they don't know what happened, and they don't know if their country exists.

Now, it so happens that a fellow by the name of George Armistead, thirty-four years old, knew that in order for Britain to take down America, they were gonna have to come through Fort McHenry.

And when he was given command of the, of the fort, he made a...

He went out and had Mrs. Pinkerskill and her daughter make a flag, a, a banner flag that they used every morning, but it would be for special occasions.

But his glimpse of a star-spangled banner announced an American victory.

That particular flag was commissioned by the Fort Commander, Major George Armistead, who wanted one so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance.

The enormous creation measured 30 by 42 feet, roughly the size of two stacked double-decker buses.

It was raised by the dawn's early light on the morning of the 14th of September.

So let's wind the clock back to the summer of 1813.

Major George Armistead, who's the commander of Fort McHenry, he knows the British will eventually come for Baltimore.

It was inevitable.

Yeah.