Many Americans know the first five words of our National Anthem – “O say can you see…” – but how many know the origin and history behind those words that came to define our nation’s freedom?
The United States adopted “Stars and Stripes” as its national flag after the Revolutionary War. While the U.S. won the Revolutionary War in 1776, the fight with Britian was not over. Despite the formal recognition of the U.S., Britain interfered with the U.S. international trade. Enter the War of 1812.
Coastal areas were attacked; Washington was burned down and Baltimore was on their radar as both cities were strong financial and political grounds, and if both fell, Britain could be victorious. Before leaving Washington, Francis Scott Key, a Georgetown lawyer, was charged with helping release civilian prisoners from the British. Out of fear that Key would “spill British plans”, Key was taken as captive aboard a British ship and taken to Chesapeake Bay.
Major Goerge Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry and the last line of defense for Baltimore, wanted a flag that was large enough for British ships to see from a great distance. He commissioned Mary Pickersgill to sew a flag using the official U.S. flag design. The Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem, was completed in August of 1813 and included fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. A 25-hour attack of Fort McHenry in Baltimore ensued in September, but American soldiers didn’t surrender, and Key saw firsthand the rockets and shells flying through the air and the smoke in the attack of the fort.
A smaller flag was raised each morning throughout the Battle of Baltimore, and when the battle ended on the morning of September 14th, the smaller flag was replaced with Pickersgill’s larger flag. When the Star-Spangled Banner was raised over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key knew the British had lost. The early morning raising of the flag inspired him to write a 4-verse poem on an envelope from his pocket about his eyewitness of the eventful night leading into the morning.
Key finished “Defence of Fort M’Henry” a week later and had it published in the Baltimore Patriot. It was later combined with music from the British song “To Anacreon to Heaven” – which was the theme song for the Society of Anacreon, a social gentleman’s club that listened to risqué music. The original song talked about alcohol consumption and love. The name of Key’s poem-turned song was also changed to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Despite the Patriotic popularity of the song and because of the tune’s risqué background, Congress members were hesitant to consider it a national anthem. Additional factors into the hesitation include that the song was difficult to march to, to sing, and to play. However, in March of 1931, a bill was officially passed by Congress for “The Star-Spangled Banner” to be the national anthem of the United States of America under President Herbert Hoover.
The original Star-Spangled Banner can be seen on exhibit at the National Museum of American History.
(https://www.si.edu/spotlight/flag-day/banner-facts, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/star-spangled-banner?ms=googlegrant&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1432490795&gbraid=0AAAAAD6pCMj1Uu-AXX_mNev6aGZfE6CNN&gclid=CjwKCAjw8uTQBhAdEiwAVvtJyoTFei3pXroeazY6-9-RiZk0GSQdhEs88u1m2x8KXAjL1s6CxorA2xoCsyYQAvD_BwE, https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/story-behind-the-song/the-story-behind-the-song/the-star-spangled-banner/)