Ft. McHenry and the 4th

In celebration of the 4th of July, the kids and I took a morning trip to Ft. McHenry, the location where the Star Spangled Banner was written during the War of 1812 (the actual poem was written in Sept. 1814...1812 was a really long year.)

We had an opportunity to discuss why a fort situated on a river at a narrow point would be advantageous, why a star-shaped design facilitates defenses (you can trap the enemy between two high ground positions), saw how the cannons could swivel on rollers, and watched a guard formation with drums and fifers.

Keeping with my approach that our trips be no more than 4 hours round trip, it was a great location, since there was plenty of room to run around, things to climb on (only afterwards did I see the 'no climbing on cannons' sign) and an opportunity for them to appreciate American history on this holiday weekend (kind of like we did in Arlington last month.)

The thing I was most proud of was how they asked such great questions.

As my dad said when I told him where we were (I knew he'd be proud), "it's not what they learn there that is important, it's important that they learn curiosity."