As History.com notes, on this
day in 1814 Francis Scott Key penned the Star-Spangled Banner from the deck of
a British ship as the British attacked Baltimore.
On this day in 1814, Francis
Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s
national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The
Defence of Fort McHenry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort
being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the
sight of a lone U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry at daybreak, as
reflected in the now-famous words of the “Star-Spangled Banner”: “And the
rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night
that our Flag was still there."
You can read the rest of the
piece via the below link:
Note: If you want to learn
more about Key and the battle in the War of 1812 that inspired Key, you should
read Steve Vogel's Through the Perilous Fight: Six Weeks That Saved the Nation.
