Havre de Grace Receives State Grant for War of 1812 Festival

On Wednesday morning, Havre de Grace officials accepted an $86,500 award from Maryland's War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission in Annapolis.

Havre de Grace was among 22 organizations that the commission and Maryland Senate President Mike Miller recognized as recipients of its Star-Spangled 200 Grant Program.

The commission awarded $2.1 million total in grants, according to a press release from Star-Spangled 200 Inc.

Of that, $400,000 supported "Chesapeake Campaign" events, which are family-friendly happenings to commemorate the War of 1812 bicentennial, observed in Maryland from 2012 to 2015.

Havre de Grace will kick off the Chesapeake Campaign, according to Tourism Manager Brigitte Peters.

A three-day festival is planned in recognition of the May 3, 1813, British invasion of Havre de Grace, when much of the city was burned.

The "Attack on Havre de Grace" festival will take place May 3 to 5 and include reenactments, Redcoat 5K, tall ships, period music, the Grace Under Fire Ball and other events.

"Musket fire, roaring cannons, shouts of military orders, and martial music will reverberate through old streets in a fine historic district," Peters said. "This is part of Maryland’s War of 1812 bicentennial observance as Havre de Grace remembers one of the most dramatic moments in Maryland history and recalls an epic moment in its past."

Get more information on the War of 1812 bicentennial in Havre de Grace.

This article was updated at 2:20 p.m.