During the first challenge along the Star-Spangled Banner GeoTrail, over 400 first edition SSB geocoins were awarded. We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Star-Spangled Banner GeoTour. We are currently out of geocoins but stay tuned for other opportunities along the Star-Spangled Banner GeoTour! A new challenge with a new prize will be ready in 2015.
Come on a journey to remember and commemorate the dramatic chain of events, people and places that led to the birth of our National anthem.
The story of the Star-Spangled Banner was shaped by the events of the Chesapeake Campaign during the War of 1812. From February 1813 until February 1815, the Chesapeake Bay was the center of a fierce struggle between the British and Americans. Places and landscapes still exist today that provide a touchstone to the past. The trail traces events and related sites that figured prominently in the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812 that have national significance, physical integrity, and the potential for contemporary recreation and interpretation.
The Star-Spangled Banner (SSB) Geotrail launched February 27, 2010 with over 30 caches within Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A trackable geo coin will be awarded to the first 400 geocachers, while supplies last, for locating at least 20 SSB caches. To be eligible for the coin, geocachers must download a passport from either the SSB Geotrail or Maryland Geocaching Society website. Geocachers must find and log at least 20 SSB finds, record the code word from each cache on their passport and post a picture of themselve at each cache location. After discovering the 20 required caches, geocachers may have thier passports validated in person or via mail at the Friends of Chesapeake Gateways office located at 410 Severn Ave, Suite 314, Annapolis, MD 21403. Please refer to the passport for complete validation instructions.
Participating in the SSB geotrail is fun and we hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for logging your find on this cache once you find the container.
Riversdale, a National Historic Landmark, is a restored, five-part, stucco-covered brick plantation home built between 1801 and 1807. Construction of this elegant manor house was begun by Henri Stier, a Flemish aristocrat, and was completed by his daughter Rosalie and her husband George Calvert, grandson of the fifth Lord Baltimore and a well-heeled planter and state legislator. Married in 1799, George and Rosalie even spent part of their honeymoon with the George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon before settling on George's tobacco plantation in Prince George's County.
It was from the South Portico of this home, about 2 miles from the battlefield, that Rosalie Stier Calvert reported to have seen several cannonballs with her own eyes during the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814. In reality, she probably saw bright Congreve rockets, used by the British for the first time during the War of 1812. Later, it was the use of these same rockets by the British in the bombardment of Fort McHenry, which inspired the fifth line of the first verse of the United States National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner: "And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air". Learn more at Fort McHenry National Monument and Shrine.
A full restoration of the historic house began in 1988. Following the discovery of Rosalie Calvert's letters in the family archives in Belgium, the decision was made to restore the house to its appearance during the period of Rosalie and George Calvert's occupancy, 1801-1838. Riversdale was opened to the public in 1993, and may be seen year-round on Fridays and Sundays from noon to 3:30 p.m. There is no fee to enter this facility to find the cache.
Thanks to the M-NCPPC Park Rangers for helping with this hide and the Maryland Geocaching Society for assisting with this project!