George Armistead
| George Armistead | |
|---|---|
Statue of Armistead at Fort McHenry
|
|
| Born |
10 April 1780 Newmarket, Caroline County, Virginia |
| Died | 25 April 1818 (aged 38) Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1812–1818 |
| Rank | Brevet Lieutenant Colonel |
| Commands held | Fort McHenry |
| Battles/wars | |
| Relations | Lewis Addison Armistead (nephew) |
George Armistead (April 10, 1780 – April 25, 1818) was an American military officer who served as the commander of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.
Armistead was born in Newmarket, Caroline County, Virginia.
His military career began during the Quasi War with France when he was commissioned as an ensign in the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment on January 14, 1799. He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant on March 3 of the same year and to 1st lieutenant on May 14, 1800. With the reduction in the Army after the Quasi War, he was discharged from the Army on June 15, 1800.
He re-entered the Army on February 16, 1801 when he was commissioned as a lieutenant on the 2nd Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers. He was promoted to captain on November 1, 1806.
He was one of five brothers who served in the War of 1812, either in the regular army or militia. He was promoted to major of the 3rd Artillery Regiment on March 3, 1813.
He distinguished himself at the capture of Fort George from the British, near the mouth of Niagara River in Canada on May 27, 1813 while serving as an artillery officer at Fort Niagara. He would later carry the captured British flags to President James Madison. Upon his arrival in Washington, Armistead was ordered to "take command of Fort McHenry."
When he arrived at Fort McHenry, located in the outer harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, Armistead ordered "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance". That flag, known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag, measured 42' x 30', and was made by Baltimore resident Mary Pickersgill, her daughter, and seven seamtresses, and would be later memorialized by Francis Scott Key in the poem "The Star Spangled Banner", which later became the American national anthem.
...
Wikipedia