During your summer weekend visit to Fort McHenry, you walk through the sally port in the Fort walls. Before you lies the parade ground. To your right rises the tall pole from which flutters a 15 star flag. You have taken your first step back in time to 1814.

Going to your left, you move toward the first barracks building. You begin to feel that you, yourself, are one of the soldiers returning for relaxation after your hours of duty. Then, walking into the barracks, you are greeted by one of your fellow soldiers, in uniform, sitting at the barracks table writing a letter home with a quill pen! What happened? You took your second step back in time. You have become part of history. History has come alive. You have met the Fort McHenry Guard.

You ask another seated soldier what he is doing. He explains that he is rolling musket cartridges and will soon be polishing brass with rottenstone. As you turn around, a lady from 1814 Baltimore walks in behind you, bringing fresh vegetables to her husband. Another day in barracks life at Fort McHenry, and you are a part of it.

Led by the staff of Fort McHenry, the Fort McHenry Guard is a group of volunteers whose interest in history has led them to re-create it by assuming the roles of the people, citizens and soldiers, who lived during our nation's infancy. The guard is made up of five units: The Citizens - like the visiting wife; Field Music - the fife and drum players who learn the signals to order soldiers' drills; U.S. Corps of Artillery - the regular army soldiers; Baltimore Fencibles - volunteer soldiers from the Baltimore area; and Sea Fencibles - a group of fighting mariners and civilians.

The members of the Fort McHenry Guard do not just put on a show in barracks. Members set up displays and present programs at schools, fairs, and libraries, bringing bayonets, cannon balls, uniforms, pictures, and history out to the public. A contingent travels each year to other War of 1812 sites. The Guard proudly leads the drill and ceremony which are the Tattoos held each year at Fort McHenry.

No member of the Guard was born with the knowledge of history so proudly passed on to you. Their training and learning are ongoing through training sessions held regularly at the Fort and their own individual research which they share with one another. From world politics in the early 19th century to the history of Baltimore, from the details of a soldier's uniform to recipes to use in the preparation of a camp meal, history in its fullest sense is studied and re-created by the Guard to then be given to us.

The Guard each year holds a Star-Spangled Banner Weekend at Fort McHenry with British and American reenactor units from the U. S. and Canada joining the Guard camping out on the fort grounds, reliving and bringing to the visiting public the reality of the soldier's life of 1812. If you have an interest in history, if you want to learn more about Fort McHenry, even if you would just like to have some fun and meet people, become a member of the Fort McHenry Guard. There is a place for you in the Guard.

Learn more about the Fort McHenry Guard, what they do, and how to become a member.