Fort McHenry is taking Baltimore back in time this weekend with “The Glorious Fourth: An Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Weekend.”
The event, which began two years ago, drew about 1,500 people in 2005. Chief Ranger Vince Vaise said he is hoping for even more this year.
“The interpretation at Fort McHenry is unique because we really became famous during the war of 1812,” he said. “We are returning to the traditional origins of the Fourth.”
Vaise was referring to the night the fort successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from invasion from British troops, during which Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The old-fashioned Fourth will feature fife and drum music, cannon firing, a musket salute and period dancing, songs and games. One of the major highlights of the event is the public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Vaise said that most people are fascinated with hearing the words out loud.
“A lot depends on how it is read, but if read with the passion that the words deserve, it?s truly an inspiring work to hear,” he said.
Jim Moser, or “Sir James,” as he is known to his audiences, is a civilian member of the Fort McHenry guard and will be performing magic of the period at the celebration.
“[In 1812], entertainers came to the taverns. So we set up a tavern for me, and all the magic that I perform has to do with history,” he said.
One of his tricks consists of an American soldier (made from a doll) escaping from British shackles.
“At some other events, they usually play some patriotic songs or something, but here you actually see soldiers, hear the reading of the declaration, hear cannon firing. … This is the perfect place to be on the birthday of the country.
“It?s interesting to see a different way that it?s celebrated. Here you get to see what the Fourth of July was like in the 1800s,” Vaise said. “It?s a rare opportunity to take part in a Fourth of July commemoration.”
