Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner in 1814 after witnessing a British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order designating it as the national anthem. An act formally making it so was passed by Cong...
Ford’s Theater: Then John Wilkes Booth, a popular actor, ended his full-time stage career in May 1864. The Maryland native wanted to spend most of his time on his primary interest: supporting the Confederacy. Within months, Booth was working actively with Confederate partisans. On April 14,...