In the years following the War of 1812 the “Old Defenders’ of Baltimore of 1814” (organized in 1842) gathered every “Defender’s Day” on September 12th to celebrate their achievements and memories. Hampstead Hill (today Patterson Park) where the land defensive line was defended by 15-20,000 citizen-soldiers and U.S. forces had become a popular site to celebrate the Battle for Baltimore. Though never attacked (the British army came with two miles of the defenses before retiring) the eastern site of a mile long infantry entrenchments and artillery redoubts has often been neglected in the story of the Battle for Baltimore.
“The city authorities have very much neglected this beautiful lot, but have been partially preserved – the breastwork and battery in the enclosure, which was thrown up in 1814 for the defense of the city. The growth of Baltimore is fast extending towards the Patterson Park, and we hope the city council will make an appropriation to put it in good condition. In addition to its many beauties it possesses of the late war [of 1812]. Let the battery, breastworks, &c., be preserved.”
The Sun (Baltimore), March 17, 1852
“There is one feature about it, however, that we hope never to see destroyed – that is the embankment thrown up for the battery and other defenses of the city, when it was invested by the British army in 1814. They should be allowed to remain as a memento of what those dead and gone have done. From this walk, while standing on the embankment, a most beautiful view of the Patapsco, and indeed of the whole of East Baltimore, may be obtained – a view surpassed by few anywhere.”
The Sun (Baltimore), May 23, 1849.
Maryland in the War of 1812 