U.S.Coast Guard Station Curtis Bay - Baltimore

One of the four boats used by the Curtis Bay unit. The unit uses three 25 foot response boats and one 41 foot utility boat to conduct its missions.

Coast Guard Station Curtis Bay, Md., is located along Curtis Creek at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Md. The station is staffed by 42 men and women who maintain the Coast Guard's missions of Homeland Security and search and rescue.The station is also responsible for law enforcement and pollution response missions.

USCG photo by PA3 Ayla Stevens

The station is involved in an average of 200 search and rescue cases and 365 law enforcement boardings each year.

In Station Curtis Bay's area of response is the sight where Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner".The ship he was on was anchored here during the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The site is marked by a buoy painted like the American flag.

USCG photo by PA3 Ayla Stevens

A Coast Guard Petty Officer stands before the site where Francis Scott Key wrote " The Star Spangled Banner". It has been placed in this location annually since the 1970s. The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin is responsible for the annual placing of the buoy in the spring and for removing it in the fall.

U.S. Park Service Park Ranger Paul Plamann, a very knowledgeable and gracious gentleman that I've had the pleasure of meeting HERE, tells the story of the Battle of Baltimore before the annual placement of the buoy:



U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin