104th Annual Reunion & Convention
NEW for this Year! More ways to participate. Choose the day(s) that fit your schedule or budget. Come for the weekend or just Friday or Saturday. All registrations INCLUDE unlimited hospitality room visits for food and drinks, open bar during dinner events, convention souvenir gift bag and program, attendance at all conventions seminars and business meetings for the registration period you choose.
This year’s convention will be held at the Delta Hotels – Marriott – Hunt Valley in Hunt Valley, MD from October 19-23, 2003. Download Registration Form to Mail.
To register online, follow this link: Online Registration
The hotel is adjacent to a major shopping area that includes restaurants, like our favorite, Mission BBQ, a massive Wegman’s Grocery store, multiplex movie theater and many specialty shops. In addition, there is a light rail stop that takes passengers into the heart of Baltimore City.
The hotel features nearly 400 guest rooms that are beautifully appointed including free WIFI service, LCD televisions and comfortable bedding. In addition, there is free parking, a gym, and onsite restaurant; pets are welcome.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS
The group room rate is 159.00 plus tax (15.5%) per night for one guest. No charge for additional guest in the room. Reservations must be guaranteed with a credit card for one night. Check in time is 4 PM and check out time is 11 AM.
MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONS EARLY. WE ONLY HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF ROOMS. CANCELLATION MAY BE MADE UP TO 3PM THE DAY PRIOR TO ARRIVAL WITHOUT CHARGES
CUT-OFF DATE FOR GETTING THE DISCOUNTED ROOM RATE IS SEPTEMBER 18, 2023. Click here to book your room at the group rate or you may call for reservations: 844-781-7404. (BE SURE TO REFERENCE THE 29TH DIVISION ASSOCIATION ROOM BLOCK.)
Our convention planning committee has been meeting regularly over the past several months to put in place an agenda that will appeal to all of our members and friends.
We will kick off the 104th Convention on Thursday, October 19, with the registration desk opening at 4:00 PM. We are expecting a busload of attendees from Virginia arriving that day and we will be ready to greet them and other attendees who have arrived at a very comfortable hospitality suite that features easy chairs, cushy couches, plenty of bar space and 2 LCD TVs. There will be refreshments available and abounding camaraderie. The hospitality suite will be open throughout the convention.
On Friday morning we will gather in the hotel lobby to board a bus for the Battle of Baltimore staff ride. Our own Historian Emeritus, Joe Balkoski, will lead the event. Joe, in addition to being an expert on the 29th Division, served as Director of the Maryland Museum of Military History. As such he developed an in-depth knowledge of the battle that culminated in the bombardment of Fort McHenry and the penning of our national anthem by Francis Scott Key. Over the years Joe conducted many of these staff rides for a wide variety of audiences. Through Joe’s interpretation you will learn that there was much more to the battle than the bombardment.
The British were fresh off of an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Bladensburg that led to the burning of Washington, DC. With that success the British set their eyes on Baltimore, a city known for its port that provided safe harbor to many of the privateers who were harassing and severely damaging British shipping. Thus, the British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake Bay in September 1814.
The invasion would be by both land and sea with British infantry and artillery landing at the end of a peninsula that is present day Fort Howard. Nearly 5,000 troops including veterans of the Napoleonic Wars and Royal Marines under the command of Major General Robert Ross, an experienced and highly competent leader proceeded up the peninsula with Baltimore in their sights.
However, MG Sam Smith recognized the British intention and dispatched Maryland Militia to meet and delay the foe. It was at North Point about 5 miles from Baltimore where the British met stiff resistance from the militia that included the 5th Maryland Regiment (now the 175th Infantry formerly of the 29th Division) who took a stand and delayed the enemy, but even more importantly mortally wounded their commander MG Ross.
Though the 5th Maryland Regiment (the North Point defenders) eventually made an organized retreat from the skirmish, their defense was key in halting the British advance. The death of their commander demoralized the invading troops and stalled their advance until another, less able general took command.
Given the extra time, MG Smith erected stout breastworks on Hampstead Hill (now in Patterson Park) facing eastward. There the invading British troops encountered over 10,000 US troops and 100 cannon. They wisely decided to retreat since the fleet was not in position to support them, ending the land invasion.
At sea, the British fleet had moved up the Chesapeake Bay but encountered a formidable star fortification, Fort McHenry. It was here that 1,000 men under General George Armistead manned their batteries and forced the British ships to move out of range. After the bombardment of more than 1,500 shells throughout the night, Francis Scott Key, a detainee on one of the British ships, noted that the huge flag was still flying at dawn over the fort, leading to his writing our national anthem.
Our staff ride will continue for the full day with stops at North Point, Fort Howard, Hampstead Hill and Fort McHenry. At midday we will stop at a local eatery for lunch.
After we return to the hotel we will have an opportunity to relax and freshen up for the evening event. Just as we did at Arlington last year, we are planning to gather for heavy hors d’oeuvres and an open bar. It will be a relaxing evening with a casual atmosphere and a speaker.
On Saturday, we will start the day with our annual business meeting that is open to all members. Those who will not be attending the meeting will have free time to do as they wish. After lunch we will gather in the lobby to board the bus for a tour of the B&O Railroad Museum located in downtown Baltimore.
The museum has been called one of the most significant collections of railroad treasures in the world and has the largest collection of 19th-century locomotives in the U.S. The museum is located in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s old Mount Clare Station and adjacent roundhouse which is where, in 1829, the B&O began America’s first railroad. Mount Clare is considered to be a birthplace of
American railroading, as the site of the first regular railroad passenger service in the U.S., beginning on May 22, 1830.
That evening we will have a buffet dinner at the hotel with our guest speaker, BG Joseph A. DiNonno, the newly appointed commander of the 29th Division on 5 August. We are honored to have MG DiNonno join us and talk about his plans for the 29th ID in an evolving US Army.
On Sunday, Chaplain Joel Jenkins will lead our annual memorial service as we remember our veterans who passed since the last convention. This very moving ceremony will be our last event for the weekend as we wish all of our attendees safe travels home.
We look forward to seeing you in October!
By Frank Armiger, National Executive Director