By my math, the attack on Fort McHenry was the most annoying of all American conflicts, and probably the surest sign that I’d be pathetically unfit for life in the 1800s. Starting at 6:00 AM, Admiral Cochrane’s best gunships anchored in Baltimore and assailed McHenry with cannon, mortar shells, and (as the song goes) rockets. This went on for 25 hours, in a harbor flanked by shops, homes, and dudes just trying to get to work. Think of the worst, loudest, day-long road construction or car alarm, and triple it. All I know is that if Cochrane’s fleet tried the same attack on my apartment, I’d fold in the first hour.