Answering the Call
Other Forms of Service
Soldiering isn’t the only way to serve your city or country in wartime. Others supported the war effort in many ways small and large.
Contributing to the Effort
At the request of the Committee of Vigilance and Safety, many Baltimore residents contributed provisions such as food, weapons and tools for digging trenches. Solomon Etting, the head of another prominent Jewish family, took a leading role in the Committee of Viligance and Safety, and was involved in the effort to organize hospitals for those wounded in the war.
Minutes of the Committee of Vigilance and Safety, courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society. Solomon Etting, courtesy of pafa.org.
Sew Patriotic
George Armistead, Commander at Fort McHenry, commissioned Mary Pickersgill, a widow who had recently moved to Baltimore, to make a flag large enough to be seen flying over the fort during battle. Because none of her rooms could hold such a thing, she worked out of Claggett’s Brewery. The finished flag was 30 feet wide by 42 feet long and included 15 stripes and 15 stars one for each state in the union at the time. Pickersgill was paid $405 for her efforts. This flag inspired Francis Scott Key’s poem.
In the Trenches
Blacks and whites worked side by side to build fortifications for protection in the event of land assault. Their efforts provided a defensive position for American troops during the Battle of North Point.
Battle of North Point by Don Troiani (National Guard Heritage Series)
Roger’s Bastion - Baltimoreans prepared a defense position against British land invasion along Hampstead Hill, including extensive trenches, earthen berms and mounted cannon.