George Armistead

This 1818 painting of George Armistead by Rembrandt Peale hangs in the Maryland Historical Society Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

"George Armistead is most often remembered for commissioning Mary Pickersgill to make 'a flag so large...the British would have no difficulty seeing from a distance' and flying that forty-two-by-thirty-foot flag over Fort McHenry during the twenty-five hour bombardment in September 1814. Francis Scott Key immortalized the flag in his verses about the 'star-spangled banner.' As commander of the fort on that fateful day, Armistead and his men held the British Navy at bay and earned a celebrated position among the city's defenders." -- Maryland Historical Society

 Armistead's statue at Fort McHenry  can be seen at The Portrait Gallery: George Armistead.