I've got dibs on Flag Day

June 14th is Flag Day and has now come and gone.     One of our lesser known "holidays".  Probably lesser known because no one gets a long weekend, but it's one that has always been special for me.  Originally it was a "holiday" in our family because it was my Grandpa Robinson's birthday.  Clarence G. Robinson was born June 14, 1895 and as I was growing up it was often the day of a big family gathering and cook-out.   My father had 5 siblings so those were usually pretty big affairs by the time you added all the spouses and the twenty-five grandchildren....then we started getting spouses of grandchildren attending....and before Clarence died in 1981 there were several great grandchildren in the mix.   Sometimes some of grandpa's sisters attended too.  Big shaded lawns out in the country, lots of food, home made ice cream, and of course, fresh picked strawberries would be just coming into season. Remember when our fruits and vegetables were always "seasonal"?   Dad's birthday was June 6th and he always wanted fresh strawberries on his birthday too.  That was before the hard tasteless things that pass for strawberries we get today in the produce section. That brings up another question I've had for a long time...how have they managed to get strawberries to turn so bright red on the outside, while remaining white and hard on the inside?

These birthday parties were always carry-in affairs and each of my aunts usually brought what was their "specialty".  Mother's usual was a fruit salad, I think it was called Heavenly Hash.  It had several kinds of fruit, mini marshmallows, whipped cream, and she always put it in the same covered dish...an insulated aluminum dish with penguins embossed all around the side.  I think one of my daughters has that dish now.

My oldest granddaughter reminded me today that June 14th is also the birthday of the US Army and that brings me to yet another family connection I have with Flag Day and something that I think gives our family some minor "bragging rights".

On Saturday night, September 10, 1814 the British fleet sailed about 30 ships up the Patapsco river toward Baltimore.  Consisting of ships of the line, heavy frigates, and bomb vessels.  Fort McHenry stood between the fleet and the city.  Lt. Col George Armistead was the commander of the fort and a small handful of defenders.   Several units of local militia joined Armistead's men at the fort including 100 men belonging to the first Regiment of Maryland Artillery commanded by Captain John Berry.   My third great grandfather, then a resident of Baltimore, John K. Sumwalt, was a member of of that unit.

Armistead placed Berry's artillery unit along with others along the lower works facing the water and in front of them infantry units were placed to meet the enemy upon their landing.  However, the British ships remained several miles off shore.   All in all around 1000 men defended the fort. On Monday the British attempted to land troops about 10 miles south of the fort and during that day and into the following night the British commander had moved about 16 ships, including 5 bomb boats to within about 2 miles of the fort.  About sunrise on Tuesday the British commenced their bombardment of the fort. Finding the distance where their shells reached the fort they anchored and kept the Americans under an incessant and well directed bombardment.  The Americans opened their batteries and fired back but their shells all fell far short of the enemy.  The British continued to throw shells at the fort with only slight intermissions till one o'clock Wednesday morning.  At that time the British attempted a landing to the right of Fort McHenry but that was repulsed....the British discontinued the bombardment at about 7 o'clock Wednesday morning, turned their fleet around and left.  Baltimore was saved from a fate similar to the burning of Washington DC.

The British bombardment had lasted 25 hours and from 1500 to 1800 shells were thrown at the fort.  About 400 of those shells fell within the fort and a large number had exploded above the fort, raining shell fragments down on the defenders.  Four defenders were killed and 24 were wounded.

If this story sounds familiar (and it should) it is due to a Washington lawyer to had met with the British commander aboard the British ship in order to negotiate the release of a prisoner of war.  The young lawyer watched the entire event unfold and wrote a song to commemorate what he had witnessed. The young witness was, of course, Francis Scott Key and his little "poem" or song became our national anthem. Against what appeared to be overpowering odds the defenders of Baltimore refused to yield and I think in a very real way that sums up the American Spirit.

John K Sumwalt, along with his parents and all but one of his siblings left Maryland for the promise of cheap new land on the Indiana frontier about 5 years after he had helped to defend Baltimore.

I don't fly my flag all the time, but on special occasions such as Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans day I always try to get it raised.   I actually prefer not to keep it raised every day because it seems more special by reserving it for those few days.  On Flag Day when I raise my flag I think of John K Sumwalt and others in my family who have defended that flag through our history and of course I remember by own Grandpa.