About This Stamp
The War of 1812, sometimes called “the forgotten conflict,” was a two-and-a-half-year confrontation with Great Britain that brought the United States to the verge of bankruptcy and disunion. With this 2014 issuance, the U.S. Postal Service® continues its commemoration of the bicentennial of a war that ultimately helped forge our national identity and gave us our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The stamp's subject for the third year of the war is the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, in September 1814. Using mixed media, stamp artist Greg Harlin, a specialist in historical paintings, depicts the battle from the vantage point of a group of soldiers manning a cannon in defense of Fort McHenry. The stamp art also gives prominence to “the rockets’ red glare” that Maryland native Francis Scott Key wrote about in “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
A portrait by Rembrandt Peale of the fort’s commander, George Armistead, appears on the reverse of the stamp sheet (courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society). The selvage engraving on the front of the sheet is a black and white version of a painting by Percy Moran depicting Key aboard the ship from which he witnessed the battle. The stamp sheet includes verso text and selvage text.
For some 25 hours beginning on the morning of September 13, a squadron of the Royal Navy fired more than 1,500 rounds of shells and rockets at Fort McHenry, which was designed to protect Baltimore from attacks by sea. Key witnessed this massive display of firepower from the deck of an American flag-of-truce vessel, where he had just completed negotiations with the British for the release of an American prisoner.
On the morning of September 14, Key realized the bombardment had been a failure when he saw the British squadron withdrawing downriver. He was moved to write “The Defence of Fort McHenry” to the tune of an old English song, and it quickly gained wider recognition under the title “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Greg Breeding served as art director and designer for the stamp.
The War of 1812: Fort McHenry stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp in self-adhesive sheets of 20. This Forever® stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Greg Breeding
Greg Breeding is a graphic designer and principal of Journey Group, a design company he co-founded in 1992, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was creative director until 2013, at which time he began serving as president and continued in that role through 2023.
Breeding’s fascination with modernism began while studying design at Virginia Commonwealth University. His affinity with the movement continues and motivates his ongoing advanced studies at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland most every summer.
As an art director for postage stamp design since 2012, Breeding has designed more than 100 stamps covering a diverse array of subjects, from Star Wars droids and Batman to Harlem Renaissance writers and the transcontinental railroad.
His work has been recognized in annual design competitions held by Graphis, AIGA, PRINT magazine, and Communication Arts.
Breeding lives in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys nothing so much as frolicking on the floor with his grandchildren.
Stamp Artist
Greg Harlin
Illustrator Greg Harlin has always called the Washington, D.C. area home. A comic book collector as a child, Harlin got his artistic start by copying the art in his favorite issues. His mother’s affinity for Andrew Wyeth also helped shape his desire for a life in the arts from a young age.
Shortly after receiving his B.F.A. in graphic design from the University of Georgia in 1980, Harlin began working for a large illustration company in Atlanta. In 1981, he switched gears, signing on with a small design firm in Annapolis, Maryland, which he loved so much that he never left.
From his first painting of a colonial minuteman, which still hangs in his childhood home, Harlin has loved capturing historical subjects. This interest opened the door to working with some of his favorite clients, including National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Park Service. Harlin has also illustrated five children’s books covering several topics from American history; among them are We the People, Hanukkah at Valley Forge, and Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride.
Through his historical watercolors, Harlin is able to see “life come into [his] subjects; moving and changing, they become real.” Harlin’s eye for meticulous detail and knack for uncovering stories have won him national acclaim.
When he isn’t painting, Harlin likes to soak up the rich history in the nation’s capital. He currently works and lives in Annapolis with several cats.
Harlin's projects for the U.S. Postal Service include The War of 1812: Fort McHenry (2014), The War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans (2015), Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766 (2016), Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor (2020), and Battlefields of the American Revolution (2025).