The star fort is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay. During this bombardment of the fort Francis Scott Key was inspired to write The Star-Spangled Banner, the poem that would eventually be turned into the national anthem of the United States. Fort McHenry was built to defend the port of Baltimore from future enemy attacks, after America won its independence. Positioned on the Locust Point peninsula which juts into the opening of Baltimore Harbor it was constructed in the form of a five-pointed star surrounded by a dry moat. The only attack the fort ever received came during the War of 1812 in the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore.