George Armistead (April 10, 1780 – April 25, 1818) was an American military officer who served as the commander of

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack b ...

during the

Battle of Baltimore The Battle of Baltimore (September 12–15, 1814) was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Life and career

Armistead was born on the Newmarket Plantation in

Caroline County, Virginia Caroline County is a United States county located in the eastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The northern boundary of the county borders on the Rappahannock River, notably at the historic town of Port Royal. The Caroline county sea ...

(now in

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

). His military career began during the

Quasi War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...

with France when he was commissioned as an ensign in the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment on January 14, 1799. He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant on March 3 of the same year and to 1st lieutenant on May 14, 1800. With the reduction in the Army after the Quasi War, he was discharged from the Army on June 15, 1800. He re-entered the Army on February 16, 1801, when he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers. He was promoted to captain on November 1, 1806.

War of 1812

He was one of five brothers who served in the

, either in the regular army or militia. He was promoted to major of the 3rd Artillery Regiment on March 3, 1813. He distinguished himself at the capture of Fort George from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, near the mouth of

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on May 27, 1813, while serving as an artillery officer at

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

. He would later carry the captured British flags to President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

. Upon his arrival in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Armistead was ordered to "take command of Fort McHenry."

Defense of Fort McHenry

When he arrived at Fort McHenry, located in the outer harbor of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Armistead ordered "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance". That flag, known as the

Star-Spangled Banner Flag The Star-Spangled Banner, or the Great Garrison Flag, was the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. It is on exhibit at the National Museum of Amer ...

, measured 42' × 30', and was made by Baltimore resident

Mary Pickersgill Mary Pickersgill (born Mary Young; February 12, 1776 – October 4, 1857) was the maker of the Star Spangled Banner Flag hoisted over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The daughter of another noted flag maker, Re ...

, her daughter, and seven seamstresses, and would be later memorialized by

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...

in the poem "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

", which became the American national anthem in 1931. During the nearly 25-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry, commencing before dawn on September 13 until the morning of September 14, 1814, Armistead alone knew the fort's magazine was not bombproof. When a shell crashed through the roof of the magazine but failed to explode, Armistead ordered the powder barrels cleared out and placed under the rear walls of the fort. Remarkably, only four men were killed, when two shells smashed into the fort's southwest bastion, despite a deadly rain of some 2,000 mortar shells that the British bombardment fleet fired at the fort. Because the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

proved unable to capture or reduce the fort in order to enter Baltimore harbor to bombard the main American defense line east of the city, British commander-in-chief Vice Admiral Sir

Alexander Cochrane Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral. He had previously captain ...

wrote to British Army commander Colonel Arthur Brooke that it was up to him whether to decide to attack or withdraw. Brooke, who had taken over from

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Robert Ross, who was mortally wounded just before the

Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although the Americans retreated, they were able to do so in good order having inf ...

on September 12, decided to withdraw.

Later life

Following the battle, Armistead was soon breveted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. Much weakened by the arduous preparations for the battle, he died at age 38, only three years later. Armistead was a casualty of the British attack. Historian Benson Lossing wrote: "the tax upon his nervous system during that bombardment left him with a disease of the heart ... on the 25 of April, 1818 he expired, at the age of thirty eight years." His funeral procession was described as "immense" and his name was immortalized by the construction of a marble monument which overlooks the city.

, Baltimore MD. http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm

Family

Armistead's brother, Brevet Brigadier General

Walker Keith Armistead Walker Keith Armistead (March 25, 1783 – October 13, 1845) was a military officer who served as Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Armistead was born in Upperville, Virginia, Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, ...

, graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1803. He was chief engineer of the Army from 1818 to 1821 and then served as colonel of the 3d Artillery Regiment until his death in 1845. He had a total of 42 years of service as a commissioned officer. A nephew of Armistead's,

Lewis Armistead Lewis Addison Armistead (February 18, 1817 – July 5, 1863) was a career United States Army officer who became a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. On July 3, 1863, as part of Pickett's Charge during ...

, the son of Walker Armistead, was a well known

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

who died at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. The Star-Spangled Banner was given to Armistead following the bombardment of Fort McHenry, and was passed down through the family. His grandson, Ebenezer Appleton, lent it to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 1907 and made the loan permanent in 1912.

Dates of rank

*Ensign, 7th U.S. Infantry – January 14, 1799 *2nd lieutenant – March 3, 1799 *1st lieutenant – May 14, 1800 *Discharged – June 15, 1800. *1st lieutenant, 2nd Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers – February 16, 1801 *Captain – November 1, 1806 *Major, 3rd Artillery Regiment – March 3, 1813 *Brevet Lieutenant Colonel – September 14, 1814

References

Notes

Bibliography

* George, Christopher T., ''Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1812 on the Bay'', Shippensburg, Pa., White Mane, 2001, * Pitch, Anthony S.''The Burning of Washington'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000. * Whitehorne, Joseph A., ''The Battle for Baltimore 1814'', Baltimore: Nautical & Aviation Publishing, 1997, * Lord, Walter, ''

The Dawn's Early Light ''The Dawn's Early Light'' is a 1972 non-fiction book by Walter Lord about the War of 1812 Battle of Baltimore and the events leading up to it. Lord said he wrote the book because of the event's significance in American history., p. 15 It is one ...

'', New York, N.Y., 1972,

External links

* __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Armistead, George 1780 births 1818 deaths People from Caroline County, Virginia United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 United States Army officers