Cistern and Well

Cistern and Well (HM19C9)

Location: Baltimore, MD 21228
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 15.781', W 76° 34.795'

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Inscription
Fort McHenry was surrounded by water, but none of it was fit to drink. In the early years, soldiers rowed into Baltimore to fill casks with fresh well water. They also collected rainwater from the barracks' roofs in a cistern located in this corner of the star fort.

When a British attack seemed imminent in 1813, the Army began work on a more reliable water source. On the parade behind you they dug a well. The shaft descended 95 feet (29m) through layers of earth, mud, foul water, and clay until it reached pure water.

Today the cistern and well are no longer visible, but archeological investigations in 1978 have confirmed their existence.

(inset)
The stairs ahead lead to Bastion No. 4 and a fine view of the outer artillery battery and the harbor.

From there you may walk to your right along the rampart to Bastion No. 3, where the British scored a direct hit on an American gun emplacement.
Details
HM NumberHM19C9
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014 at 12:44am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 363696 N 4347154
Decimal Degrees39.26301667, -76.57991667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 15.781', W 76° 34.795'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 15' 46.86" N, 76° 34' 47.70" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)410, 443, 202, 301
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2312 I-95, Baltimore MD 21228, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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