PNP284144 The British Attack of Fort McHenry, Baltimore in 1812 (engraving) by American School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fort McHenry is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay. It was this bombardment inspired that Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner, the poem that would eventually be turned into the national anthem of the United States;); Peter Newark American Pictures; American, out of copyright.