their frigates in many instances. you could probably see holes appear in sails. it starts to rain. so armistead reluctantly orders the gigantic flag hauled down and the smaller flag hauled up. the flag hangs limp because it's drenched with rain water. then the british not willing to lose any ships pull back beyond the range of the fort's guns. even though the fort's guns are hiked up, we could see the cannon balls harmlessly splashing down in the water. and armistead reluctantly says cease fire. francis scott key was on a small truce ship. he negotiated the release of a prisoner. he was -- was on an unarmed ship behind the british bombardment squadron. but he's not sure what's going on. he knows there's a bombardment of the fort.

by the terms of the release of the prisoner he negotiated, he could go back to baltimore only once the battle was over. so his question is who is going to win this battle? and there's this lull in the battle right now. it gets quiet. this is where the british use five special ships. and i love the names of them. the one was the meteor. the terror. the etna. the h.m.s. volcano. and the h.m.s. devastation. that was the shock and awe of 1814. each one of those ships could fire a 200-pound exploding shell two miles. now, i'm sure we probably have some folks who fired mortars in their careers in the military. and you know the principle of the mortar, fire and lob the projectile up. these mortars were fixed at a 45-degree setting. if you do the math that bomb

will go a mile high in the sky before it begins its descent. imagine you, for some you can probably imagine it's easy because you did it in real life, being a young recruit, on the receiving end of a bombardment or fire, and unable to return it yourself. that's the most helpless feeling, that's probably one of the worst feelings you can ever get. i was - i did a talk like this for another legion group and a few years ago it was a world war ii veteran, ladies and gentlemen, it was like the german railway guns. one guy stepped up and said i faced those guns. i know exactly what you're talking about. but that sinking feeling of helplessness. the only thing the defenders could do is hunker down behind the ramparts as the shells came in. you could feel the ground shake. the bombs bursting in air as francis scott key could write. give you a cross section of two men who were killed in this battle. fortunately, there were only five killed in the bombardment.

but two of the five, one side is a lieutenant levi clagett. was a very rich baltimorean. he served as a volunteer militia officer. his name is on the battle monument. he was mortally wounded with a shell fragment through his neck. he was remembered. another man, william williams, his real name was frederick hall. he was born enslaved in southern maryland. he joined the american army. he changed his name so his master couldn't track him down. fate brought his army unit to fort mchenry. a regular u.s. army infantry regiment. and the shell landed where that regiment was posted. it severed his right leg and he would die a couple weeks later. two guys, right. one is one of the poorest guys, probably if you asked him master he wasn't even considered a citizen of the country he just died for. the other guy is a rich guy. his name's on a monument in baltimore city. really you had everything in between.

you had free african-american sailors. you had immigrant white guys like george shellenberger who , was a german immigrant, drummer in the united states army. he was a musician. the bombardment continued all through the night. one direct hit struck the fort's ammunition magazine, a glancing blow. and never blew up. you talk about those near misses. the shelling continued all into the night. the british had a large attack behind the fort. one defender said you could hear the screams of the royal marines cutting across the rainy night as the fort as cannon ball splintered into the barges, blowing men, body parts, and everything else out the other side. by dawn's early light, the bombardment tapered off. by dawn's early light the british land commander decided to cancel an attack in the city by land and they began to pack up and march back down. the british officers on the ships saw that they -- the fort

grounds were cut up but that the defenses were still very strong. they fired over 1,000 shells and 700 rockets. so throwing another 1,000 shells clearly wasn't going to win this battle. to bring up the ship's closer, would improve their accuracy, then the fort might be able to strike them better. they decided, we don't want to risk damaging or losing any ships. so let's turn and sail away. as they did, major george armistead ordered the flags changed. it was a routine thing done at 9:00 every morning. on this particular morning it was very special. the small, sopping wet american flag was hauled down. the gigantic flag, carefully kept dry, and literally it's the morning, so there was no rain, was hoisted as the fife and drums played "yankee doodle,"

that was like our national anthem song at the time. private isaac monroe, a volunteer militiaman, said everyone jumped out of play the ramparts and cheered as the big flag was hoisted. we even have an account from a british officer in training, midshipman, robert barrett, royal navy, h.m.s. hebris, as the ship was sailing away, at 9:00 the americans hoisted over their works the superb and splendid ensign over their battery, we even have an account by the british some big flag was hoisted. the most eloquent account was by francis scott key. he knew what was going on. key really wasn't for the war of 1812. however, once the homeland was attacked he most certainly was. key again was not perfect. he was a conflicted man. he recognized in a war not going well, in a time where the capital had only been burned a couple weeks before, there was a lot at stake in this particular battle here. this is one we had to win. this is a battle for morale. and seeing that flag by dawn's early light, really meant that

the republic had survived. as he -- he had this rush of emotion. he'll write a four verse song, poem if you will, that will be set to music that he titled "the defense of fort mchenry" we today call the "star spangled banner." i will not recite all four verses, but i'll conclude with the second verse. we only know the first verse. that's because he could not see the flag when he wrote that. can you see? otherwise he would say see what i see. if you look at the first verse it ends with a question. home of the brave. question mark? why does he do that? you got to read the second verse. i'll give that to you now. and then if you have anything to ask feel free. he says, this is like you're with key on the deck. on the shore. dimly seen. through the mists of the deep.

the early morning fog, steam off the water. where the fauxes haughty host in dread silence reposes. battle's over. that dread silence. who won? if you can't see the flag, you don't know who won that fight. it could be the british flag going up any minute. what is that? he asks the question again. what is that? o'er the towering steep as it fitfully blows half concealed, half discloses. so now you know he's talking about a flag. when you see a flag waving and the wind strikes and it blows out like that, that's what he means discloses. when the breeze dies down it droops, it conceals. half conceals, half discloses. now the catches the gleam by the morning's first beam in full glory reflected it shines in the stream, 'tis the "star spangled banner," oh, long may it wave,

o'er the land of the free and home of the brave. exclamation point. [applause] >> president harry truman before to his wife as the boss, can she served on her own terms. she had little to say to the media, after some unforgettable public moment. and she spent a good part of her white house years home in missouri. truman, on c-span's original series, first ladies. examining the public and private lives of the women who fill the

position and their influence on the presidency, from martha washington to michelle obama. sunday at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span3. year, c-span is touring cities across the country -- exploring american history. up next, a visit to cincinnati, ohio. you are watching american history tv, all weekend and .very weekend, on c-span3 >> cincinnati had the terminal from 1972. it replaced five different railroad stations. a lot of them in cincinnati were livestock policy would come in

on the baltimore and ohio, and you would connect with the southern railroad. you have to run from one station to the other. it would make it difficult for others not familiar with cincinnati to get to one train station from another. starting as early as 1905, there have been various proposals to replace them with a single station. but all them were never able to agree on location. businessmen around cincinnati wanted a new train station, so ultimately, it was a group of business leaders here in cincinnati that brought the railroads together and raised $3 million to make this project happen. today, the union terminal is located in the queens gate neighborhood near the west end. this was selected in the 1920's as a location of the new terminal base on the 1925 master plan. and the fact that there was already a large railyard contracts in the area, it was very easy here -- as opposed to

downtown, where getting the necessary and for structure would have been very difficult. they broke ground in 1929. and the building opened in march of 1933. it only took them a few years to build this very large facility. union terminal was originally proposed as a neoclassical structure. the architecture had a lot of experience, there was also's do oppenheimer who had built union station. they wanted a modern station in a modern style, because cincinnati had been a place to avoid previously -- the idea was to have a modern, very up-to-date railroad station that would give them sort of an advertising piece. so that cincinnati is up to the time and current. so they decided to move it into

the art deco style, and the advisor for the company, roland he helpeds a fellow, update the building in art deco. the terminal is located at the end of a quarter mile drive, located near lincoln park and the west end. as you come up the drive, it rises slowly to the front. lanes on either side of the half dome. they originally entered here, they dropped off passengers underneath the main rotunda center section. they would pick up passengers. they would enter from the wings to the main rotunda where they would be entered into a 160 foot tall arch that contained ticket counters, food services, and other amenities before they would head back to board the train. union terminal's half dome is a largest in the western

hemisphere at the time it was built. although it is a half dome, if it were a full dome, it would be 40 feet wider than the top of washington dc. when you walk into the rotunda at the terminal, you are greeted by two euros. history of the u.s. and cincinnati. the mural depicting cincinnati history features several interesting characters, and putting the government and the military uniform from the early settlement. . the man facing us is general arthur saint clare, he was one of the matters here in the northwest territory in the state of ohio. he was responsible for changing in honor of name the society of cincinnati, which was an early military organization. in the background, the top of the mural in silver highlights are different forms of

presentation. in the cincinnati ural, easy different forms of river transportation -- from the early steamboats to the modern ones. on the u.s. mural, you see different forms of land transportation. and in the very corner, you see what might be the future of transportation -- airplanes and airships. the heyday for union terminal is during the 1940's. previously, for the 1930's, it had not seen much use. the depression and hit rather hard, as have the emergence of the automobile. but during world war ii, this was a major transportation hub or troops. peak, it wasts seeing up to 34,000 people per day. for a lot of troops, coming for union terminal was a very memorable experience. it stuck with them for the rest of their life. that they primarily remember is the rotunda space, with its large arch and mural street it made quite an impression. it is quite staggering.

coming from a training camp or some rural area, this was quite an experience for them on whittier. we do have a lot of veterans, very vividly remember the time here. there was a uso in the terminal, it was one of the first troops in transit lounges that opened in june 1941 for the u.s. joined the war. it served men and women who were traveling between, to give them a place to relax -- write letters. if they have families or relatives, there was a place for infants. as well as a punk room for them to have some sleep for the caught the train. union terminal had its fair share or famous people that came through. several presidents have come to the terminal. my favorite is when harry truman came through. he went to buy a paper, and the woman selling did not recognize them. he actually signs the dollar he bought the paper with, hoping

that would jog her memory. it began a prestudy decline after world war ii. there were several different factors that led, increasing use of the automobile and highway system. faster air travel across the country made a very long trips on trains fairly unnecessary. by 1950, there was are a talk of leaving union terminal and adapting it to new uses because of the severe cline of rail usage. it shut down in october of 1972. amtrak took over in 1971. in the station was far larger than anything that they only had two trains coming in per day. so they eventually moved to a small building on river road near the riverfront in cincinnati. and union terminal remained empty for the next three years. toay, union terminal is home the museum center. it is also an important hub for the riodder community.

it is home to many events and organizations, we host different events here connected to the different museums. living history events, science events and so on. lots of schools come here. it is important piece of the city's history. the iconic skyline, union terminal is included. everyone recognizes it. it is very much the visible face of the city. >> find out where our tour is going next online at c-span.org/citiestour . you're watching american history tv on c-span3. reporter for nbc.

is this marion barry's place? that is a seat over there. i went to the office and called him up. mr. mayor, i just went to club 55. don't you realize people are watching what you do, where you go. they see you sit there all the time and watch naked dancing girls. was a positive phone. he said, is nice, isn't it? reporter on the political corruption in maryland, bc, and for dinner. >> attorney general from around the country signed the letter they agreed with the governor what he did was politics. not bribery. and these gifts, he should have reported them -- he did not report them. $15,000 for a child's wedding, $70,000 of the loan. bobby donald had been considered a vice present of canada.

when he got into the governor's office, this is a case for you are a public figure. you have a messy right life and combines together. >> sunday night at eight eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. >> born in 1897, from 50 years ago,