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Mchenry (FORT a fortification)

FORT, a fortification at the entrance of Baltimore harbor, which was unsuccessfully bombarded by the British fleet in 1814. It was at this time that "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott Key, an American citizen, who was detained on board a British vessel and witnessed the bombardment. See KEY, FRANCIS S. MACHETE MACHETE (mä-cha'tā), a cutlasslike tool or weapon, half knife, half cleaver, used either as a tool or a weapon in Cuba and other tropical countries.