Team Maryland and the National Park Service Celebrate
Star-Spangled Banner Trail at Fort McHenry

(Baltimore, MD)- Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) joined Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Congressmen John Sarbanes (D-MD), Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith and officials from the National Park Service today to celebrate the creation of The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail at Ft. McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine.  The bill creating the Trail passed Congress and was signed into law on May 8, 2008, by President Bush.

The National Historic Trail system commemorates major routes of historic travel and events that have shaped American history. The creation of the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail comes in time for the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812 in 2012.

The Trail will begin with the June 1814 battle between the British Navy and the American Chesapeake Flotilla in St. Leonard’s Creek in Calvert County, follows the British landing at Benedict on the Patuxent River, the Battle of Bladensburg, and then moves on to the British march into Washington, D.C., which was sacked and burned.  From Washington, it follows the British campaign to the Battle of North Point and on to Baltimore, ending at Fort McHenry, site of the defeat of the British and where Francis Scott Key composed The Star-Spangled Banner, our National Anthem.

“Maryland played a critical role in the growth of our nation.  The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail is a wonderful way to inspire people of all ages to learn more about Maryland’s rich history,” said Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger.

“As we prepare for the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812, the Star-Spangled Banner Trail will ensure that Americans have a much better appreciation of America’s past and of Maryland’s important contributions to it,” said Senator Cardin, who first introduced legislation in Congress to create the Trail in 2003.  “I am extremely pleased that the nation will now have the opportunity to learn about the unique role Maryland and our region have played in our nation’s history.” 

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