The Secret Significance Behind the Fort McHenry Flag - Flag Changing Ceremony

The Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine is a historical site to commemorate the successful defense of the fort during the Battle of Baltimore as part of the War of 1812 on September 13-14, 1814. One notable historical figure that comes to mind is Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the battle from a ship along the Patapsco River and penned the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry", which eventually became "The Star Spangled Banner" and became the America's National Anthem in 1931 when President Herbert Hoover signed it into law.

According to the National Park Service, "Fort McHenry is the first site to receive a presidential proclimation requiring that the site fly a flag 24/7, 365 days a year". The flag change programs occur daily. In the mornings (10 AM), the park raises a larger replica of the historic flag that was flown during the War of 1812, which consists of 15 stars and 15 stripes. The 15 stars and 15 stripes represent all of the states in the Union at the time, which includes the original 13 colonies, Vermont and Kentucky.

This video will focus on the evening (4 PM) flag change, which will lower the 15 star and 15 striped replica flag with raising the large modern U.S. flag (as of 2024) consisting of 50 stars to represent 50 states and 13 stripes to represent the original 13 colonies. This is an all-weather flag is that is raised over the fort and it the flag that is flown during high winds and rain.

Flag changes occur in the Spring, Summer and Fall Seasons and are weather dependent. It is part of the Star Fort Historic Zone, which is a Fee Area.

Filmed: May 24, 2024