What is Defenders Day at North Point ?
Dundalk Patapsco Neck Historical Society & Museum
In 1986, Boy Scout Troop 438, in cooperation with the Dundalk Patapsco Neck Historical Society and the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, hosted a Defender's Day Celebration at Battle Acre park in Baltimore County. A group of Canadian British re-enactors, who had hosted the Scout Troop the previous year at Fort York in Toronto, and several members of a Maryland Revolutionary War re-enactors group, attended the celebration.
Although a total of less than 200 people were involved, the event was an enormous success, especially the media exposure. As a result, the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce proposed making it an annual event and the following year, the Defender's Day at North Point celebration began. The Defenders Day at North Point event of 2006 was the first at Ft. Howard park since 1995.
Why "Defenders Day"? The Defenders Day celebrations in their earliest 19th Century form were popular picnic-style get-togethers. The aging veteran militiamen from Maryland and Pennsylvania who were at North Point were called the "Old Defenders", when traditional Defenders day celebrations were held in the ensuing decades. Early on, they were also attended by former militia members from much of Maryland, southern Pennsylvania and northern Virginia. Many of these "Old Defenders" had stood together at the defenses on Hampstead Hill, waiting for the expected British assault following the engagement the previous day at North Point.
Though Defender's Day in Maryland is no longer a State holiday with bank and school closings, the observance by living history groups was renewed after 1995. The National Park Service's Ft. McHenry Star-Spangled Banner Weekend event each September observes the defense of Ft. McHenry at the Federal level.
We hope you will join with us again at the Defenders Day at North Point event, as Patapsco Neck again echoes to the beat of drums and the crashing of cannon and musket fire.
Chesapeake 1812
Chesapeake 1812 is a loosely-knit community of War of 1812 living-history groups and historic site event coordinators -- all with a interest in early-19th century Chesapeake Bay history. We share a moderated, grass-roots Internet discussion forum. This facilitates informal discussion of how event activities might be changed, with a eye toward improving the experience for both the public, the host sites, and the living history staff and volunteers who participate in living history events.
Through our shared experience of War of 1812 living history events in the Chesapeake Bay region, we anticipate the approaching bicentennial of the War of 1812. The Chesapeake 1812 community strives to increase public awareness of the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay region.
If you are a War of 1812 living history group, or a Chesapeake region historical site with interest in the War of 1812, then you may be interested in this discussion group. To inquire about joining this forum, contact the moderator of the Chesapeake 1812 discussion group. To see a current list of War of 1812 events with special emphasis in the region, please visit www.chesapeake1812.org There you will also find links to some webs of living history units in the region.