was more widely and more deeply appreciated in France in the early
days than in his own country. And I know also that the esteem the
French and the Americans in common hold for the great poet has
strengthened the bond of friendship between France and America—
between France and Maryland.

For to us in Maryland, Edgar Allan Poe is ever a Marylander. His
great-grandfather lived in Cecil County. His grandfather, General David
Poe, was a Baltimorean. He lived, was married and wrote some of his
best works here in Baltimore. Appropriately, he is buried in a church-
yard in our city here.

As Governor, I extend the heartiest welcome to our French visitors,
and to them, and to the members of the Edgar Allan Poe Society of
Baltimore, may I say that I deeply regret that it was impossible for me
to be with you in person to honor the 150th anniversary of the birth of
our beloved poet.

ADDRESS, GENERAL SOCIETY OF THE WAR OF 1812,
DEFENDERS' DAY, FORT McHENRY

September 13, 1959

The war we fought with the British from 1812 to 1814 was neither
so destructive nor so spectacular as many of the other engagements this
country has had with foreign enemies—the war of the Revolution which
preceded it and the conflicts which followed it, climaxed in the two
great world wars. Its historical significance lies in the fact that the
young Republic, still struggling in the pains of growth, was able to
repulse the first concerted attack upon its integrity. Its condition as a
free and independent state thus was assured in this second contest of
arms with the mother nation which as yet regarded it as no more than a
loose alliance of undeveloped and sparsely populated colonies. The
London Times at the outbreak of the war, actually called the Americans
"savages".

But the War of 1812 has a peculiar significance to Marylanders, not
only because of the drama associated with the battle fought here on this
ground, but because it was the destiny of our State to play a pivotal role
in the outcome of that war. From 1813 on, Maryland bore the brunt
of that struggle with the invading forces. It was Maryland soldiers
bearing Maryland arms and fighting on Maryland soil that won the
battle that turned the enemy from our shores.

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