The U.S. state of Maryland is one of the original states in the nation. It was one of two states that donated the land that became the District of Columbia. (Virginia was the other state, but the state took the land back, and it is now present day Arlington.) Maryland is the home of Fort McHenry. What is special about Fort McHenry? It was here during the War of 1812 where the nation known as the United States of America established itself and was recognized as a world military power. During this battle, a man named Francis Scott Key who was taken prisoner on a ship in the Patapsco River watch the bombardment on the fort. When the smoke cleared, he saw the American flag waving high above the fort. This was the inspiration of a poem that later became the words of the National Anthem of the United Stated…