A Glimpse at History

Francis Scott Key, a young lawyer from Baltimore, had been asked by the American Government to secure the release of William Beanes, a well-known Maryland Physician, whom had been captured by the British as they were retreating from Washington in August 1814. He was able to free Beanes, but Key himself was held for several days prior to a planned attack on Baltimore. As he watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry from a British ship during the night of September 13-14, he waited for some sign of victory from his country or from the enemy. At dawn he saw the American flag still waving over the fort, the excitement and emotional relief that Key felt compelled him to write the verses of “The Star Spangled Banner.” The poem he wrote was published on September 20, in the Baltimore Patriot under the title “The Defense of Fort M’Henry,” and was sung to the tune of the English song, “The Anacreon in Heaven,” by an actor, Ferdinand Durang. The American Revolutionary song, “Adams and Liberty,” had been sung to the same tune.

Thus, the Star Spangled Banner was born. It has been sung by Actors, Singers, The old, The young, the Tired and the weary ever since. As of 2008 this song….one of the most frequently sung songs in American History is 194 years old.

Filed under: War of 1812 by Savannah Meade