.....Just
to the east, you will come upon the Armistead Monument which
was first erected on Eutaw Place in 1882, but moved to this
spot just a few years later.
General
George Armistead played an active role in the American capture
of Fort George, Upper Canada, on May 18, 1813, while serving
as an artillery officer at Fort Niagara, New York, and later
carried the captured British flags to President James Madison.
Upon his arrival in Washington, Armistead was ordered to
"take command of Fort McHenry."
The
day he assumed his post at Fort McHenry, Armistead ordered
"a flag so large that the British would have no
difficulty seeing it from a distance..." That flag
measured 42' x 30'.
Following
his successful defense of Fort McHenry and Baltimore,
Armistead received a promotion to brevet lieutenant-colonel
from President Madison, effective September 12, 1814.
Armistead
died on April 25, 1818, from pneumonia while still in command
of Fort McHenry and is buried in St. Paul's Cemetery in
downtown Baltimore.
