Skip to main content

Brookeville Star Spangled Trail Site Dedication

July 29, 2014

SARBANES JOINS BROOKEVILLE COMMUNITY, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FOR DEDICATION OF STAR SPANGLED BANNER NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL

Brookeville served as our Nation's Capital during War of 1812

Today, Congressman John Sarbanes joined Sandy Heiler of the Brookeville Commission on the War of 1812 Bicentennial, Abbi Wicklein-Bayne of the National Park Service and other Brookeville community leaders at a press conference to dedicate signage at the Brookeville site of the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail in advance of the War of 1812 Bicentennial celebration.

The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail is a 560-mile land and water route that tells the story of the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay region. It connects historic sites in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia and commemorates the events leading up to the Battle for Baltimore, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write our National Anthem. The trail traces American and British troop movements, introduces visitors to communities affected by the war, and highlights the Chesapeake region's distinctive landscapes and waterways -- http://starspangledtrail.net/pdfs/SSB_NHT_brochure.pdf.

The Trail runs through Brookeville, MD where, on August 26, 1814, the town of Brookeville served as the United States Capital after the British army burned Washington, DC. The President and Dolly Madison took up residence in the home of Caleb Bentley, now called Madison House.

###