Grand French Battery

“About noon the much-wished for signal went up,” recalled Sergeant Joseph Plumb Martin, Corps of Sappers and Miners. “I confess I felt a secret pride swell in my heart when I saw the ‘star-spangled banner’ waving majestically in the very faces of our implacable adversaries; it appeared like an omen of success to our enterprise.” A Soldier from Connecticut, Martin had seen extensive service since the early days of the Revolutionary War, having enlisted in 1775. After six years of fighting, starving, marching, and other sacrifices, he was finally witnessing everything he and his compatriots had worked so hard to achieve.