Submitted by Joan Bittner Fry Francis Scott Key—lawyer, poet, and patriot—was born near Pipe Creek in Frederick County, Maryland, on August 1, 1779. Key graduated from St. John’s College in Annapolis in October 1796 and was the valedictorian of his class. He then studied law under his uncle, Philip Barton Key, in Annapolis. During this…

Richard D. L. Fulton The Battle of Baltimore If I took the place, I should have been the greatest man in England. If I lost, my military character was gone forever.”  ~Colonel Arthur Brooke, British officer in command of the British advance onto Baltimore. On September 13, 2014, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued…