The Birth of the Star-Spangled Banner

The Star-Spangled Banner, the United States of America’s national anthem, is more than just a rousing patriotic song played at sports games and political events. The story behind its creation is perhaps even more interesting than the song itself. The Star-Spangled Banner, originally a poem entitled “The Defense of Fort M’Henry,” was written during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 by a well-respected Georgetown lawyer named Francis Scott Key. Key witnessed the rocket bombardment of Fort McHenry from a unique vantage point – a British prison ship.

Key’s peculiar fate in the battle was due to a complicated web of events beginning several months earlier. The story began on August 22, 1814 when American Dr. William Beanes entertained British Generals Ross and Cockburn as the invading Army marched through Upper Marlboro on their way to Washington. When the British left they were convinced they had secured a new American ally. However, when the British returned from their victory at the Battle of Bladensburg, they discovered that Beanes had helped local citizens arrest straggling British soldiers. Feeling betrayed, the British had Beanes arrested. Richard West, a close friend of Dr. Beanes, approached his brother-in-law Francis Scott Key for help. The influential Key met with President Madison and Brigadier General John Mason, the commissary general of prisoner exchanges,  approved a mission for Beanes’ release and requested that Key be accompanied by an American prisoner exchange agent, John Stuart Skinner. Key and Skinner headed to meet with the British Admiral Cochrane on his flagship Tonnant.

The situation appeared to be going well for the Americans, as the British had finally agreed to let Beanes go. However, while aboard, British officers briefed each other about their updated plans to attack Baltimore. Beanes, Key, and Skinner had seen and heard too much. The British sent the three Americans to a prison ship to wait until the battle was over in the hopes of keeping the British attack a secret. We know now this was unnecessary, as Baltimore’s defensive mastermind Samuel Smith had already foreseen the attack.

The Battle of Fort McHenry raged on throughout the day of September 13, and all the while Key waited anxiously for news of its progress. When night came, it was nearly impossible to see what was happening through the darkness and the thick smoke of the cannons. The next morning was silent. Key, fearing the worst, looked out into the clear morning to see the American flag flying high over Fort McHenry. In addition to the assuaged fears for his own safety, the sight of the flag was a stirring symbol that America – and Baltimore – had defended itself against the British yet again. Incredibly moved, Key composed his poem to the tune of John Stafford Smith’s “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a drinking song that was popular in America and in England. The fledgling American nation had resisted British rule twice now and in doing so had inspired a wave of of patriotic feeling. The Star-Spangled Banner was quickly copied and passed around the city and eventually the country. It was the perfect song to express this new movement of patriotism.