Early on the bitter cold morning of Sunday, February 7, 1904, a passerby on the nearly deserted streets of Baltimore's business district noticed smoke coming from the fourth floor windows of the John E. Hurst & Co. building. Within hours steady, frigid winds had created a blaze that overwhelmed Baltimore's firefighters and threatened the entire city. Although few died as a result of the flames, the heart of the city, its waterfront and business district -- lay in ashes. The story of Baltimore's trial by fire and ultimate resurgence is now freshly told for the first time in fifty years by Johns Hopkins scholar Peter B. Petersen.
In 1904 the city of Baltimore was almost destroyed by fire. Hundreds of firemen, policemen, soldiers, and citizens battled the blaze for three days. The disaster brings out the best in man and the bravest of deeds, but one hero stands head and shoulders above all...literally. Goliath is a fire horse assigned to Engine Company 15. He is massive in size and mighty in heart and steadfastness. To the men of Engine Company 15, Goliath is the ultimate fire horse. He is the lead horse for the team assigned to pulling the mammoth Hale Water Tower No. 1. When the fire alarm sounds, calling them to action, Goliath leads his team into the blaze. Soon his lifesaving actions will lead him into the pages of history. Masterful artwork from acclaimed illustrator Troy Howell brings this true story to pulse-pounding life. Educator Claudia Friddell says of her work researching Goliath, "It was a privilege to meet and interview firefighters and fire historians about the Baltimore Fire of 1904." Goliath is her first children's book. Claudia lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Artist Troy Howell has had a prolific career as a children's book illustrator with countless books to his credit, including The Secret Garden, The Ugly Duckling, and Favorite Greek Myths. He received his formal art education from the Art Center in Los Angeles and the Illustrators' Workshops in New York. Troy lives in Falmouth, Virginia.
On the evening of February 7, 1904, Brigadier General Lawrason Riggs, Commander of the Maryland National Guard's First Brigade, hurried to Baltimore's ornate city hall on Holliday Street for an urgent meeting with George M. Upshur, president of the Board of Police Commissioners. These men faced a crisis: Baltimore's central business district was in flames and the conflagration was rapidly spreading. Unlike an earlier fire in 1873, this blaze had thwarted all attempts to check its progress and city officials were faced with a devastated city in chaos. An overwhelmed fire department had already appealed to outlying fire districts for help, but Riggs and Upshur were meeting to decide on more important measures to contain the imminent danger and establish order during what promised to be a difficult period of recovery. They decided to call out the Maryland National Guard. The decision would prove fateful. Over 2,000 guardsmen served with distinction under extreme conditions during the Great Fire and its aftermath. The actions of the Guard wrote a new chapter in the history of Maryland's militia, eventually leading to the establishment of a more professional organization capable of responding to any crisis, civil or military.
