# 1618Cd - 1978 15c Fort McHenry, Error
U.S. #1618Cd
1978 15¢ Fort McHenry Coil Imperf. Pair
Americana Series
Issue Date: June 30, 1978
City: Boston, MA
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Color: Blue, red, gray
Take this opportunity to own an imperforate 1978 Fort McHenry pair. A limited number of these stamps were produced without perforations, but you can own one now.
History of Fort McHenry
On September 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key watched from the Chesapeake Bay as the British bombarded Fort McHenry. In the âdawnâs early lightâ of the next morning, he saw the 15-star, 15-stripe American flag still flying over the Fort and was inspired to write his immortal poem, âDefense of Fort McHenry.â We know it as our national anthem, âThe Star Spangled Banner.â
Battle Of Fort McHenryÂ
For the first two years of the War of 1812, the British forces used a defensive strategy, protecting their provinces from American invasions in Upper and Lower Canada. However, once the British and their allies defeated Napoleon (as part of the War of the Sixth Coalition), they began a more aggressive plan of attack.
In the summer of 1814, the British sent three large armies to invade Americaâs East Coast.  On August 24, British forces overran the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, sending them fleeing through the nationâs capitol. With Washington, D.C., abandoned, the British easily looted and burned the White House, Capitol Building, Treasury, War Department, and other public buildings.
With American spirits low, the British then planned to attack Baltimore, a busy port city where they believed men who had raided their ships were hiding. The British developed a combined land and sea attack, with Major General Robert Ross launching the land attack at North Point and Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane taking on Fort McHenry by sea.
The following day, the British continued their land attack at Hampstead Hill. There they were met by some 10,000 American troops. The American defenses were far stronger than the British had anticipated. Additionally, U.S. forces at Fort McHenry managed to keep the British Navy from getting close enough to provide artillery support. By the early morning hours of September 14, British commander Arthur Brooke decided the land attack was a lost cause and ordered his troops to retreat back to the ships.
For the next 25 hours, the British bombarded Fort McHenry with up to 1,800 cannonballs. In spite of this, the attack did little damage, likely due to the fortifications completed prior to the start of the battle. Around nightfall, British commander Alexander Cochrane sent a force of men to try another land attack just west of the fort. He had hoped they could slip past the fort and then draw the Americansâ attention away from the main British land force on the cityâs eastern side.
Francis Scott Key and âThe Star-Spangled Bannerâ
Before the battle had started, Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Georgetown, had been dispatched by citizens of Upper Marlboro to rescue their friend, Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured by the British days before. Key, along with U.S. Prisoner Exchange Agent John Stuart Skinner, set out to meet the British and negotiate Beanesâ release. Though they refused at first, Skinner had letters from wounded British soldiers praising the doctor for his kind and fair treatment. Eventually, Ross agreed to let him go.
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U.S. #1618Cd
1978 15¢ Fort McHenry Coil Imperf. Pair
Americana Series
Issue Date: June 30, 1978
City: Boston, MA
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Color: Blue, red, gray
Take this opportunity to own an imperforate 1978 Fort McHenry pair. A limited number of these stamps were produced without perforations, but you can own one now.
History of Fort McHenry
On September 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key watched from the Chesapeake Bay as the British bombarded Fort McHenry. In the âdawnâs early lightâ of the next morning, he saw the 15-star, 15-stripe American flag still flying over the Fort and was inspired to write his immortal poem, âDefense of Fort McHenry.â We know it as our national anthem, âThe Star Spangled Banner.â
Battle Of Fort McHenryÂ
For the first two years of the War of 1812, the British forces used a defensive strategy, protecting their provinces from American invasions in Upper and Lower Canada. However, once the British and their allies defeated Napoleon (as part of the War of the Sixth Coalition), they began a more aggressive plan of attack.
In the summer of 1814, the British sent three large armies to invade Americaâs East Coast.  On August 24, British forces overran the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, sending them fleeing through the nationâs capitol. With Washington, D.C., abandoned, the British easily looted and burned the White House, Capitol Building, Treasury, War Department, and other public buildings.
With American spirits low, the British then planned to attack Baltimore, a busy port city where they believed men who had raided their ships were hiding. The British developed a combined land and sea attack, with Major General Robert Ross launching the land attack at North Point and Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane taking on Fort McHenry by sea.
The following day, the British continued their land attack at Hampstead Hill. There they were met by some 10,000 American troops. The American defenses were far stronger than the British had anticipated. Additionally, U.S. forces at Fort McHenry managed to keep the British Navy from getting close enough to provide artillery support. By the early morning hours of September 14, British commander Arthur Brooke decided the land attack was a lost cause and ordered his troops to retreat back to the ships.
For the next 25 hours, the British bombarded Fort McHenry with up to 1,800 cannonballs. In spite of this, the attack did little damage, likely due to the fortifications completed prior to the start of the battle. Around nightfall, British commander Alexander Cochrane sent a force of men to try another land attack just west of the fort. He had hoped they could slip past the fort and then draw the Americansâ attention away from the main British land force on the cityâs eastern side.
Francis Scott Key and âThe Star-Spangled Bannerâ
Before the battle had started, Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Georgetown, had been dispatched by citizens of Upper Marlboro to rescue their friend, Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured by the British days before. Key, along with U.S. Prisoner Exchange Agent John Stuart Skinner, set out to meet the British and negotiate Beanesâ release. Though they refused at first, Skinner had letters from wounded British soldiers praising the doctor for his kind and fair treatment. Eventually, Ross agreed to let him go.
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