Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum

The Flag House is the restored home of Mary Pickersgill, who sewed the enormous flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment in 1814. The house has been preserved as a historic house museum and tells the story of Pickersgill's life and work, and the production of the Star-Spangled Banner.

The adjacent museum building covers the broader history of the national anthem, the War of 1812, and Baltimore's role in the conflict. The combination of the personal story — a woman running a small business who happened to make one of the most historically significant objects in American history — and the national story is well handled.

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A story
Mary Pickersgill was a 37-year-old flag-maker in 1813 when she received a commission from the US Army to sew a flag for Fort McHenry — a flag large enough to be seen from far out in the harbour, so British ships would know the fort had not surrendered. She and her daughter worked in a nearby brewery malthouse to have enough floor space to lay out the 30-by-42-foot flag. It was this flag that Francis Scott Key saw still flying after the bombardment.

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