Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 113 Part 3.djvu/167

 PUBLIC LAW 106-135—DEC. 7, 1999 113 STAT. 1685 Public Law 106-135 106th Congress An Act To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the route of the War of 1812 British invasion of Maryland and Washington, District of Columbia, and Dec. 7, 1999 the route of the Americam defense, for study for potential addition to the national [HR 791] trails system. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Star-Spangled Banner National SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. Historic Trail This Act may be cited as the "Star-Spangled Banner National 1999 Historic Trail Study Act of 1999". 16 USC 1241 note. SEC. 2. FINDINGS, Congress finds that— (1) the British invasion of Meirylgind and Washington, District of Columbia, during the War of 1812 mairks a defining period in the history of our Nation, the only occasion on which the United States of America has been invaded by a foreign power; (2) the Star-Spsuigled Banner National Historic Trail traces the arrived of the British fleet in the Patuxent River in Calvert County and St. Mguys Coimty, Meiryland, the Ianding of British forces at Benedict, the sinking of the Chesapeeike Flotilla at Pig Point in Prince George's Coimty and Anne Arundel County, Maryland, the American defeat at the Battle of Bladensbiirg, the siege of the Nation's Capital, Washington, District of Columbia (including the burning of the United States Capitol and the White House), the British naved diversions in the upper Chesapeake Bay leading to the Battle of Caulk's Field in Kent County, Meuyland, the route of the American troops from Washington through Georgetown, the Maryland Counties of Montgomery, Howard, and Baltimore, and the City of Baltimore, Maryland, to the Battle of North Point, and the ultimate victory of the Americans at Fort McHenry on September 14, 1814, where a distinguished Maryland lawyer and poet, Francis Scott Key, wrote the words that captured the essence of our national struggle for independence, words that now serve as our national suithem, the Star-Spangled Banner; and (3) the designation of this route as a national historic tredl— (A) would serve as a reminder of the importance of the concept of liberty to all who experience the Star-Spangled Beuiner National Historic Trail; and

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