Soaring above historic Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, the birthplace of the National Anthem, is a flag representing The Star-Spangled Banner. It’s pretty cool that this American icon is illuminated by solar power.
The Fort McHenry Guard fires a cannon in honor of the Star-Spangled Banner flag.
Four LED lamps draw their power from a pair of low-profile solar panels to shine the light on the landmark 30-by-42-foot flag.
The lights save energy and money, and they better enhance the colors of the flag. Officials at Fort McHenry report that the solar lights do not intrude on the historic character of the fort, unlike the old, ground-level, incandescent floodlights.
History of the Flag
In 1814, amateur poet Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay. His impressions of seeing the tattered flag in “the rocket’s red glare” during the Baltimore Battle of the War of 1812 eventually became the words to America’s national anthem.
The flag flying at Fort McHenry, though symbolic, is not to be confused with the actual Star-Spangled Banner relic, which is displayed in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
Red, White, Blue and Green
“By using solar power, we harness ‘the dawn’s early light’ that enabled Francis Scott Key to see the Star-Spangled Banner and use it to power the lights that allow us to view it ‘at the twilight’s last gleaming,’” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “It is just one of the many ways that we are incorporating renewable energy and sustainable practices into park operations.”
The “greening” of Fort McHenry has also included converting most of its external lighting to solar power, installing high-efficiency HVAC units and storm windows, setting up a geothermal heat-pump system, purchasing electric utility vehicles, and constructing a LEED-certified visitor education center.
The Star-Spangled Banner at Fort McHenry
July 4th celebrations at Fort McHenry include fife and drum music, cannon firing, a musket salute for 18 states, period dancing, and a public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
—Laurel Kallenbach, freelance writer and editor
Photos courtesy: National Park Service
Originally published 2013
Read more about my travels in America’s national parks and monuments:
- Sea Kayaking in California’s Channel Islands
- Snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park
- Fossils Come Alive at Dinosaur National Monument
- 10 Reasons to Celebrate America’s National Parks
- Castles in the Utah Desert: Hovenweep National Monument
- Mesa Verde: An Archaeological Pilgrimage
- Sleep in a Sustainable Hotel in Mesa Verde National Park
- Treasures of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
- Explore a ruined pueblo: Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
- Discover Painted Hand Pueblo in Canyons of the Ancients
