Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner
Fort McHenry is a significant historical site in Baltimore, Maryland, known for its role in the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. In September 1814, the British launched an attack on Baltimore, targeting Fort McHenry with heavy artillery. The fort was crucial for the city’s defense, and its soldiers endured more than 24 hours of intense bombardment. Despite the relentless attack, Fort McHenry remained standing, and the American forces successfully defended Baltimore, forcing the British to retreat.
The battle at Fort McHenry had a lasting impact on American history, not only because of its military significance but also because it inspired the writing of the United States’ national anthem. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and amateur poet, witnessed the bombardment of the fort from a nearby ship where he had been negotiating the release of an American prisoner. Throughout the night, he anxiously watched the battle, unsure of whether the fort would survive the assault. At dawn, he was relieved and inspired to see the large American flag, known as the “Star-Spangled Banner,” still flying over Fort McHenry, signifying that the fort had not fallen.
Moved by this sight, Key wrote a poem titled “Defence of Fort M’Henry,” which vividly described the American forces’ battle and resilience. The poem captured the emotions of the moment, celebrating the fort’s survival and the symbol of the American flag. Later, Key’s poem was set to music and became widely popular across the United States.
In 1931, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially adopted as the United States’ national anthem. The anthem remains a powerful symbol of American pride and resilience, with its lyrics commemorating the battle at Fort McHenry and the nation’s enduring strength. The national anthem and the narrative of Fort McHenry serve as poignant reminders of the adversities that the fledgling nation encountered and the fortitude that enabled it to persevere.
Defence of Fort M’Henry
By Francis Scott Key
O! say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there —
O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream —
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havock of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul foot-steps’ pollution,
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home, and the war’s desolation,
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto — “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.