The cannons of Ft. McHenry face south to ward off the advancing British. They were used only once, in 1814, to defend against the British in a battle witnessed by Francis Scott Key. He was on a British vassal anchored in the harbor, to the right in this photo. He had traveled to Baltimore to convince the British to release a friend. He was successful the day before the battle, but the British confined him and one other man lest the two warn the Americans that they were going to attack the fort.