During the August 10 Bicentennial Celebration, the St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square will feature a special exhibit “St. Michaels in 1813” which describes the people, buildings and their stories at the time of the Battles of St. Michaels. Background and details will be presented on seven houses that were in St Michaels in 1813 and their owners who were variously boat builders, militia members or town merchants and active St. Michaels’ residents. Also included are pictures and histories of the two churches of that era which served as quarters for the militia during the Battles of 1813. A diorama lays out the scene for the August 10 Battle and a recording tells the history of the two battles as taken from British naval records. The Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with FREE admission.
On August 10 St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square will also offer free docent led walking tours on “St. Michaels During the War of 1812” which will leave the Museum at 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.. The tours are free but there is limited space. Participation will be on a first come basis. The tour will last approximately one hour and walk leisurely from St. Mary’s Square to Navy Point to see cannons, houses, ship yards and hear tales of the battle and life in St. Michaels in the early 1800s. Along the way you will see the cannon involved in the battle and the Cannonball House that was struck by a cannon ball that rolled down the interior stairs and frightened a woman holding her baby. At Muskrat Park you can see replicas of the cannons from 1813. The originals were removed by Union forces prior to the Civil War and are currently in storage at Fort McHenry. From there you can see the locations of the defending batteries in the harbor, in particular Parrott’s Point. Continuing down Locust Street at the foot of Carpenter Street is the Higgins Boatyard, the oldest continuously operated boat yard in town and one of several in operation in 1812. Following on to Navy Point you get a good view of St. Michaels Harbor and will hear about 19th Century activities in the harbor.
Cannon from the August 10, 1813 Battle of St. Michaels. Moved to St. Mary’s Square and dedicated during the Centennial Celebration on August 10, 1913
Dedication plaque for cannon used in the Battle of St. Michaels on August 10, 1813
Cannon Ball House. Docent describing the naval bombardment of the town where this was one of the few structures hit with a cannon ball sent through the dormer window where it rolled down the stairway and frightened Mrs. William Merchant who was holding her daughter Mary .
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