HISTORY. The foundation of Baltimore is as sociated with the emergence of the proprietary Oovernment of Maryland from an era of troll blous times toward the close of the first quarter of the Eighteenth Century. With the expansion of commerce and the increase of population. it was not lung before the need of a. port near the head of Chesapeake Bay began to he felt. Atten tion was directed to a remarkable site on the north side of the Patapsco River, 14 miles from the waters of the bay, offering easy access and safe harbor to vessels of large size. On July 14, 1729, a petition was presented to the Provincial Assembly praying for the erection of a town at this point, and three weeks later a bill to this effect was passed.
The early life of the settlement was a race for supremacy in trade with older towns of the prov ince, in which Baltimore slowly but surely forged ahead. The history of the city immediately before and during the Revolutionary War forms ft fa miliar chapter in our national history. From Baltimore largely came the zeal and energy with which Maryland entered into the War of Independence, and which has made the valor of the Maryland Line immortal. The events of the war interrupted foreign c ()unnerve and cut off all continental supplies; but it stimulated local mairuhtetures and shipping thereafter. Local merchants engaged extensively in the world's carrying trade. and 'Baltimore clippers' became famous. During, the War of 1812 the city was attacked by land and water, but successfully de fended in each case. During the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key, while de tained on board a British vessel. composed the national anthem. "The Star Spangled The introduction of new industrial methods slit cceded the reactionary depression following the War of 1812. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
and the Baltimore and Olibi Railroad were pro jected and carried forward by local enterprise. The first telegraph line in the United States was constructed bet Washington and Balti more. Industry, trade, and commerce suffered heavily from the events of the Civil War. Com nmnication with the South was completely cut off, and Western trade diverted to other chan nels. A mob attack upon a Massachusetts regi ment in its passage through the city, on April 19, 1861. inflamed the country and led to the Federal occupation of the city. But the causes of prosperity were suspended, not destroyed. and as the prostrate industrial life of the territory naturally tributary to Baltimore revived, the city emerged into new importance as an indus trial centre. The residential section of the city expanded, and in 18,88 a large area or 'belt' of suburban territory was annexed to the corporate limit.. The diversification of manufactures. the growth of commerce, the extension of trade, the increase of population. the influx of foreign ele ments, the rise of economic standards. the de velopment of civic consciousness have been the essential elements in the later municipal his tory of Baltimore.
Consult: Scharf, The Chronicles of Baltimore (Baltimore, 1874) ; Thomas, The City Govern ment of Baltimore (Baltimore, 1889) : Hollan der, Guide to the City of Baltimore (Baltimore, 1893) ; Love, Baltimore: The Old Town and the Modern City (Baltimore. 1895) and Hollander, The Financial History of Baltimore (Baltimore, ( 1899 ) .