1814: The Star-Spangled Banner

In 1814, America was at war with Britain. Baltimore was the nation’s third-largest city and it was there that British warships planned an attack in hopes of neutralizing Fort McHenry which protected the city’s harbor entrance. It was about 6:30 a.m. on September 13 when the attacks of 2,000 shells and 800 rockets began being fired at the fortress. The attacks lasted for 24 hours. Above the scene flew a 42-foot by 30-foot American flag which caught the attention of Francis Scott Key who witnessed the attack from a ship in the harbor. This event gave him the inspiration to write the poem, “Defence of Fort M’Henry” on this day in 1814. Later, the words were set to the song, “The Anacreontic Song” which was written by John Stafford Smith in 1776. The song had been used as a club anthem of the Anacreontic Society, an amateur men’s music club in London. The new combo became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson named the song the national anthem of all of the U.S. armed forces. Then in 1931, as an Act of Congress, the song became America’s national anthem. (Image: Pixabay)