Tourism Council of Frederick County

Four Days and Three Nights

Walk the streets of Maryland where Francis Scott Key once lived, worshipped, practiced law in the early 1800’s, and visit the final resting place of the man who penned the Star-Spangled Banner.  Frederick, Maryland is the perfect hub for your regional exploration of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

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Day One

Follow in the footsteps of Francis Scott Key's Frederick

Begin your day at the Frederick Visitor Center where you will be “greeted” by Francis Scott Key among the 2,200 square-feet of interpretive exhibits. Learn about Frederick County’s past and present through the award-winning film, “A Turn of the Wheel”.

Francis Scott Key was born in Frederick County on August 1, 1779 at his family’s plantation of Terra Rubra (now part of Carroll County). He studied law in Annapolis and began a legal practice in Frederick in 1801. The following year he married Mary Tayloe Lloyd, who also came from a prominent Maryland family. The couple eventually had eleven children, six boys and five girls.  In 1803 Key and his family moved to Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. Previously a religious pacifist, Key turned an avowed patriot and in 1814 enlisted in the District of Columbia militia as a response to the ever increasing British threat to American independence.

Visit Courthouse Square, where Key launched his notable legal career.  At this site in 1765, Frederick citizens burned effigies of government officials in protest of the Stamp Act. This is considered to be among the first public uprisings against the monarchist rule, occurring nearly seven years before the Boston Tea Party. The present Victorian-style City Hall building was constructed in 1862, after the burning of the courthouse in 1861 when the Maryland legislature debated secession in Frederick. In front of City Hall stands a bust of Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney, to whom Key’s sister, Anne Phoebe Charlton Key, was married.

One of the remaining links to Francis Scott Key in Frederick is the Roger Brooke Taney House, where Key’s sister lived with her husband. A Frederick lawyer at the time, Taney owned this building between 1815 and 1823. The structure is a rare survival in that it is a modest town dwelling with intact dependencies, including slave quarters. The site offers a window into the lives of both free and enslaved African-Americans as well as slaveholding and non-slaveholding whites.

Continue on to All Saints’ Episcopal Church. All Saints’ Parish was founded in 1742 and has had a number of noteworthy parishioners over the years, including Francis Scott Key. The current neo-gothic structure is the parish’s third church, designed by noted 19th century architect Richard Upjohn and completed in 1855. Of particular note are the original Tiffany stained glass windows located in sanctuary.

Located on W. Church Street in downtown Frederick is Trinity Chapel, its graceful 1807 steeple is the oldest of the “clustered spires,” and houses the town clock. This building served the Evangelical Reformed Church until 1848, when they erected a new church across the street, which they continue to worship in today. For a time, a sect of the congregation continued to worship in the old church, the most notable difference being that services were still conducted in German, whereas the new church was being conducted in English. By the 1880's, this group had disbanded and Evangelical Reformed Church decided to demolish the old church, except for the tower and rebuild a building that would better suit the needs of the church's Sunday school. This was completed in 1882. Today, Trinity Chapel houses a small cruciform chapel on the first floor, which features a Moller Pipe Organ. Buried beneath the floor of the bell tower is Rev. Frederick Lewis Henop, the pastor who baptized Francis Scott Key.

Perhaps Frederick’s most notable Francis Scott Key memorial is his final resting place in Mount Olivet Cemetery within walking distance of downtown Frederick. In 1843, Key died at the home of his daughter, Elizabeth Howard, in Baltimore from pleurisy, an infection of the lungs. He was initially interred in Old St. Paul’s Cemetery in Baltimore. In 1866, his body was moved to Frederick where it is interred today. Just inside the front gate of the cemetery, stands an impressive monument dedicated on August 9, 1898 to pay lasting tribute to the author of our country’s National Anthem.

Next view the Hessian Barracks, erected in 1777, they held prisoners from the Revolutionary War battles of Saratoga, Trenton, and Yorktown, and later battles of the War of 1812. Access to the inside of the structure is limited; however the exterior is accessible and interpretation is available during special events. 

Venture down Market and Patrick streets for a variety of dining options this evening. In the evening, perhaps opt to attend a Frederick Keys game at Harry Grove Stadium.

Day Two

Travel to Baltimore, where Key was inspired to write the Star-Spangled Banner

Depart for a day trip to nearby Baltimore. The nation's history is no more inextricably bound with Baltimore than the War of 1812, the British attack on Fort McHenry and the penning of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Visit the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, built in 1793 and the home where Mary Pickersgill and her daughter created the 15-star flag that Francis Scott Key spied through the "dawn's early light." Mary and her daughter Caroline moved into the house in 1806, along with Mary’s mother, Rebecca Young, who began the flag-making business in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. 

Take a water taxi out to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine (the only National Park Service site with that designation) and see the fort up close and personal with a film, tour and flag-raising program. During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key was summoned to gain the release of a physician captured by invading British forces in late summer, 1814. He traveled to Baltimore and began negotiations; however he would be detained aboard a British sloop during the naval bombardment of Fort McHenry in the Baltimore Harbor. The battle commenced in the early morning of September 13th and would last for 25 hours, all the while with Key as witness from his vantage point.

When daylight came, he was astonished to see the American flag still flying atop Fort McHenry and recorded his thoughts on the back of an envelope. An amateur poet, Key would turn his impromptu scribbling into a masterful poem. Originally titled, “The Defence of Fort McHenry”, Key’s ode to the flag would be printed in several newspapers across the country and later put to music.

The poem-song was adopted as the National Anthem of the United States, first by an executive order from Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and then by a Congressional resolution in 1931, signed by President Herbert Hoover. Another resolution by Congress some 18 years later is responsible for the fact that the flag has flown continuously over the Francis Scott Key Memorial since May 30th, 1949.

Enjoy lunch at one of the many group-friendly restaurants surrounding the Inner Harbor or along Historic Charles Street. This afternoon, stop by the Maryland Historical Society and see the original draft of Francis Scott Key's immortal poem that became the National Anthem. The Historical Society also provides insight into the privateers who operated from Baltimore's Fell's Point during the    war, prompting the British to declare the city a "nest of pirates." Then journey on to Fell's Point and stroll those same cobblestoned streets as those who harassed the British ships nearly 200 years ago. Your group may even encounter the town crier, reading the news from 1814.

Toby’s Dinner Theater awaits your group for a scrumptious meal and entertainment this evening!

Following dinner, return to Frederick.

Day Three

Discover the flag that inspired it all in Washington, D.C.

This morning visit the Historical Society of Frederick County, where docents will lead your group on a tour of this 1820's Federal-style mansion that maintains a unique collection of furnishings, art and memorabilia from Frederick's past. Your group will enjoy the lush surroundings of their formal sitting garden.

Continue your regional exploration of Francis Scott Key with a trip to our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.  Visit the National Museum of American History and view the very flag that was constructed at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and inspired Key to write his poem.

While Francis Scott Key's song was known to most Americans by the end of the Civil War, the flag that inspired it remained a family keepsake of Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry during the 1814 bombardment. It was exhibited occasionally at patriotic gatherings in Baltimore but largely unknown outside of that city until the 1870s. The flag remained the private property of Lieutenant Colonel Armistead's widow, Louisa Armistead, his daughter Georgiana Armistead Appleton, and his grandson Eben Appleton for 90 years. During that time, the increasing popularity of Key's anthem and the American public's developing sense of national heritage transformed the Star-Spangled Banner from a family keepsake into a national treasure. Appleton received many requests to lend it for patriotic occasions. He permitted it to go to Baltimore for that city's sesquicentennial celebration in 1880. After that, his concern for the flag's deteriorating condition led him to keep it in a safe-deposit vault in New York. In 1907 he lent the Star-Spangled Banner to the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1912 he converted the loan to a gift. Appleton donated the flag with the wish that it would always be on view to the public. Museums constantly balance the desire to display an object with the need to protect it from the damage created by light, dust, and other environmental factors. The Smithsonian has had to balance its effort to fulfill his wishes with the need to care for the fragile and damaged object.

Take some time to view other famous items on display at the museum, such as Kermit the Frog and Dorothy’s ruby red shoes originally worn by 16 year old Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz.

On August 24, 1814, British forces occupying Washington, DC set fire to many public buildings following the Battle of Bladensburg. The White House and the U.S. Capitol are two of the well-known buildings largely destroyed in “The Burning of Washington”. Visit the White House and the U.S. Capitol to learn about the roles played by these two important structures in the War of 1812, including their subsequent reconstruction.

Visit Washington’s historic Union Station for a lunch stop. Originally opened in 1907, today it is a hub for shopping and dining with over 35 options to choose from.

In the afternoon, ride to the top of the Washington Monument (tickets required) or the Old Post Office Pavilion for a panoramic view of the city. Animal lovers may also wish to pay a visit to the National Zoo, home to giant pandas, cheetahs, tigers and other exotic species.

Downtown Washington, DC offers many group-friendly options for dinner.

After dinner, return to your hotel in Frederick.

Day Four

Depart Frederick and return home.

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Please contact the following for tours, prices and operating hours:

• Star Spangled Tours: (240) 626-0963, Tiffany Ahalt, local receptive services and step-on guide, www.starspangledtoursmd.com, starspangledtours@comcast.net.
• Mount Olivet Cemetery: 301-662-1164, www.mountolivetcemeteryinc.com. The cemetery is free and open to the public
• Historical Society of Frederick County: (301) 663-1188, www.hsfcinfo.org, fee for guided tour
• Roger Brooke Taney House: (301) 663-1188, www.hsfcinfo.org, fee for guided tour
• The Frederick Keys: www.frederickkeys.com, for schedule and group information
• Star-Spangled Banner Flag House: www.flaghouse.org, 410-837-1793, fee for guided tour
• Fort McHenry National Monument and Shrine: www.nps.gov/fomc/,  410-962-4290, ext. 243 for group tour information
• Maryland Historical Society: www.mdhs.org, 410-685-3750 x334 for group tour information
• Smithsonian Institution: for information on the National Museum of American History, the National Zoo and other Smithsonian Museums, please visit www.si.edu
• White House: www.whitehouse.gov, please note that arrangements for tour must be made ahead of time by contacting your local member of Congress
• U.S. Capitol: www.visitthecapitol.gov for more information on touring the U.S. Capitol
• Washington Monument: www.nps.gov/wamo, for information on fees and hours

Other sites in and around Frederick that may be included in your itinerary:

• National Museum of Civil War Medicine
• National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
• Monocacy National Battlefield
• Antietam National Battlefield
• Gettysburg National Military Park
• Schiffertstadt Architectural Museum
• Rose Hill Manor Park & Museums
• Catoctin Wildlife Zoo
• Adventure Park, USA

For overnight accommodations, please refer to our Destination Frederick Visitor Guide.

For further information please contact:

Becky Bickerton, Sales Manager, (800) 999-3613 or 301-600-4050 or e-mail at bbickerton@fredco-md.net