Two ships? Did you know? US Frigate (1797-1853) The first ship given the name Constellation was built in 1797 by David Stodder and Thomas Truxtun at the Sterret Shipyard in Baltimore and was launched September 7th of that year. The shipyard was marked by Harris Creek (a tributary of the Patapsco) in what is now … More USS Constellation

I’ve decided to write a blog post about Goliath simply because while writing about the Baltimore Fire and searching for photos, I remembered the stories that my grandmother used to tell me about the positively enormous fire horse. Some of this will be a rehash of some of the things I wrote about in the … More Goliath – Baltimore’s Horse (1893-1913)

I feel compelled to write about the Baltimore Fire, not just because it was awful and terrible and burned most of what is now Baltimore’s business district to the ground, but because my family was directly involved. On Sunday, February 7, 1904, an explosion at the John E. Hurst & Company building. broke windows and … More My Great-Grandfather, Wise Brothers Co., the bucket brigade and the The Great Baltimore Fire

In a discussion with my boss on other subjects to populate my blog with, the shot tower came up – so I figured I’d add it. It’s always just kind of been “there”.  I’ve always known that it was the “shot tower”, and I’ve always known what it was used for (dad explained it to … More Baltimore’s Shot Towers

I seem to be in a American Revolution/Civil War/This Old House mood, so I figured I’d talk about one of my favorite places in Baltimore County – Hampton Mansion. Built between 1783 and 1790 for Charles Ridgely III, it was called “Ridgely’s Folly” and at its height, encompassed some 25,000 acres. The land was originally … More Hampton Mansion

Here is the plaque on the golf course. On the far side of the river is the remains of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. A plaque about that might have been nice too as opposed to the dribble that’s here. The canal runs 184 miles along the north bank of the river (the Maryland side in … More The C&O Canal

I have tried not to post anything political on my blog. I have tried to keep it informational about Baltimore and the great state of Maryland, where I was born. But the marker on Trump’s golf course just pisses me the hell off and he really needs to remove it damn thing or at the … More Ball’s Bluff vs. Trump’s Balls

While there were no skirmishes in Owings Mills, the war didn’t entirely pass it by. During the Gettysburg Campaign, the rail line through Owings Mills as well as the Reisterstown turnpike were commandeered by the Union Army for at least 5 days for use as a supply line. They brought engines and cars up from … More Mr. Disney vs. Harry Gilmor, Owings Mills, and Ice Cream

I had a conversation with a teacher at work who is also a Civil War buff like me. She asked about things in the area so I told her about Corbit’s Charge. I figured I’d post it here too. It took place in Westminster on June 29th, 1863. Also known as the Battle of Westminster, … More Corbit’s Charge or Why Jeb Was Late to Gettysburg

Here’s another colorful local tidbit that I was telling my cousin about tonight. Harry Gilmor – some people know him as the Baltimore City Police Commissioner during the 1870’s and subsequent Mayor of Baltimore – he was also elected colonel of the Maryland National Guard after the war. He was a Confederate Cavalry officer who … More Harry Glimor