The Battle Monument, located in Battle Monument Square on North Calvert Street between East Fayette and East Lexington Streets in

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 ...

, commemorates 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 ...

with 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, ...

fleet of 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 ...

's bombardment 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 ...

, 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 ...

, southeast of the city in

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

on the Patapsco Neck peninsula, and the stand-off on the eastern siege fortifications along Loudenschlager and Potter's Hills, later called Hampstead Hill, in what is now

Patterson Park Patterson Park is an urban park in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Canton, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, and Butchers Hill. It is bordered by East Baltimore Street, Eastern Avenue, South Patte ...

since 1827, east of town. It honors those who died during the month of September 1814 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. The monument lies in the middle of the street and is between the two

Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses The Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses are state judicial facilities located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. They face each other in the 100 block of North Calvert Street, between East Lexington Street on the north and East Fayette Street on ...

that are located on the opposite sides of North Calvert Street. It was sponsored by the City and the "Committee of Vigilance and Safety" led by Mayor Edward Johnson and military commanders: Brig. Gen. John Stricker, Maj. Gen. Samuel Smith and Lt. Col.

George Armistead George Armistead (April 10, 1780 – April 25, 1818) was an American military officer who served as the commander of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Life and career Armistead was born on the Newmarket Plantat ...

(of

). The site of the former first Baltimore County and Town/City Courthouse (torn down in 1809) was originally designated as the location for the newly planned

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and th ...

. Designed by Robert Mills (1781–1855), the cornerstone of the Washington Monument for Baltimore had just been laid on Independence Day, July 4, 1815. But fears that the designed shaft of the column would be too tall for the smaller open space of the old Courthouse Square, and might fall over onto nearby close-in townhouses, caused a last-minute change in location. The monument site for the nation's first president was moved further north of the city into "Howard's Woods" of the "Belvindere" estate of Col.

John Eager Howard John Eager Howard (June 4, 1752October 12, 1827) was an American soldier and politician from Maryland. He was elected as governor of the state in 1788, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the Continental Congress, the Cong ...

(1752–1827). 1846 view of Battle Monument

The monument, designed by Baltimore architect J. Maximilian M. Godefroy (sculptor to the Court of Spain) and built in 1815–25, is 39 feet (11.9 m) tall. The base of the monument is an

Egyptian Revival Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat ...

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

. It is an unusually democratic monument for the time in that it records the names of all who died, regardless of rank.Dorsey, John & Dilts, James D., ''Guide to Baltimore Architecture'' (1997) p. 145-146. Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, Maryland The eighteen layers of the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

base represent the eighteen states that made up the United States at the time of the war. A griffin is at each corner of the base. The column, carved as a Roman fasces, is bound with cords listing the names of soldiers who died during the battle, while the names of officers who died are at the top. The monument is topped by an 8 feet tall 2,750 pound

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

statue by Antonio Capellano of a female figure representing the City of Baltimore wearing a crown of victory, holding a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...

in one hand and a ship's

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

in the other. It was hoisted to the top of the column during the middle of the period of construction on the eighth anniversary ceremonies,

Defenders Day Defenders Day may refer to one of several public holidays: *Defenders Day (Maryland) * Defenders Day (Ukraine) * Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan) * Defender of the Motherland Day (Uzbekistan) *Defender of the Fatherland Day Defender o ...

, September 12, 1822.

Colloquially Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversa ...

called ''Lady Baltimore'', the statue was relocated to the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...

on October 5, 2013, in order to preserve it from further damage caused by time and nature. It was replaced by a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

replica. The monument is the oldest stone monument and first public war memorial in the United States. The monument is depicted on the seal of the City of Baltimore that was adopted in 1827 and the city's flag adopted in the early 20th century. The monument is erroneously depicted as being in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in the 2007 film ''

Live Free or Die Hard ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 arti ...

'' starring

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

, which had numerous scenes actually filmed in downtown Baltimore. The Battle Monument was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on June 4, 1973. It is contained within the Business and Government Historic District and is within the

Baltimore National Heritage Area Baltimore National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area encompassing portions of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The designated area includes the central portion of the city, waterfront, inner neighborhoods and portions of the ...

References

External links

*, including photo in 1985, at Maryland Historical Trust website * *
Battle Monument
at Explore Baltimore Heritage
Battle Monument
On Monument City
Incredible 1846 Photo of Battle Monument
- Ghosts of Baltimore blog {{Streets in Baltimore Baltimore National Heritage Area Buildings and structures completed in 1825 Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore Downtown Baltimore Egyptian Revival architecture in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey in Baltimore Maximilian Godefroy buildings Outdoor sculptures in Baltimore Baltimore City Landmarks

See also

References

External links