Fort McHenry was the last line of defense intended to stop the British from invading Baltimore during the war of 1812. The soldiers at the fort held off the British for 25 hours, the extended canon fire through the night inspired what eventually became the Star Spangled Banner.

Over the years it went from being an active fort, to an idle fort, to a military hospital (the largest on the east coast) to a National Park. Being right on the water there are walking trails and a visitor’s center.

Here’s a view of the canon pointing south east, this is probably a view that the people stationed there saw much of the time.

They would look through the grass on the ramparts as they kept watch on the harbor. That bridge and buildings weren’t there in the early 1800s of course but the wide-open view of the harbor certainly was which made the location ideal for siting incoming ships.

What’s a rampart? (I was kind of excited to be walking around on one but I had to look it up)
A rampart is a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, having a broad top with a walkway and typically a stone parapet

It must have been a somewhat commonly known term in the early 1800s since it made it into the poem.

Things look a lot different now, the trails through the park are open to the public and people living nearby can to use the land for recreation. We were there on an especially overcast day in late December, the cloud cover was amazingly consistent all day and undulating as if you were underwater watching the ocean above move with the tides.

For now the only incoming ships visible in the harbor are tankers and container ships docking at the ports immediately to the east of the fort.