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The battle of Baltimore took place September 12–14, beginning with British land attacks on the 12th and 13th that drove the Americans back to the city's inner defenses. The British then apparently decided to await the result of the parallel bombardment of Fort McHenry that began at dawn on the 13th; the British army commander had been ordered not to attack unless he were certain that less than 2,000 men remained in the fort. In the early hours of the 14th, the British land force returned to their ships, though some were landed that night west of the fort in an attempt at a diversion. Somewhat later, after 25 hours of bombardment, only four of the fort's 1,000 defenders had been killed and 24 wounded, and the British forces withdrew. The raising of a large flag on the morning of the 14th, replacing a smaller flag that had flown through much of the bombardment, inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner. The British fleet and troops withdrew from Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads, proceeding to New Orleans.