American-Exceptionalism-10.5x10-PRINT-10.5 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 19
Star Spangled Banner
O'er The Land Of The Free And The Home Of The Brave
Americans
honor and salute all those who
have served and sacrificed over generations to
keep our nation “the land of the free and the
home of brave.” These words are inspirational the
world over and part of our national anthem, the
Star Spangled Banner.
Motivational and moving, the historic song
connecting Americans to one another, became the
official anthem of the United States on March 3,
1931, but the story of how it came to be and why
it represents who we are as a people begins
nearly a century earlier during the War of 1812 –
another victory for America.
It all started on Sept. 12, 1814, when Francis
Scott Key, a well-connected skilled attorney, and
John Stuart Skinner, an American Prisoner
Exchange Agent, set out to negotiate the release of
a U.S. citizen from the British.
Attorney Key and Agent Skinners’ mission was to
meet in Baltimore and together board a British
vessel, coined a “truce ship,” to collect a prisoner
– 65-year-old physician, Dr. William Beanes, who
was also a hero warrior of the War of
Independence.
When Key and Skinner met with British soldiers,
they were told that although Dr. Beanes would be
released into their custody, it would not be
immediate. Why? The British were in the throes
of an attack on nearby Fort McHenry, and the
Brits feared the three Americans would alert the
soldiers at the Fort if the prisoner transfer occurred.
Over the course of the next 36 to 48 hours, Key
and the others watched helplessly as the attack on
Fort Henry was executed. Historic records note
that throughout the night of Sept. 13, 1814, and
into the early morning hours of the next day, there
were piercing sounds and images of “rockets and
bombs… intense gunfire” that could be heard and
viewed from miles away.
After an agonizing night and right after dawn on
September 14, Key and the others “[could] see the
Fort and the American flag.” Their view of the
raised American flag coupled with the “eerie
silence that had settled over the [Baltimore]
harbor” left no doubt the attack on Fort McHenry
was over and the British were in retreat.
Once released with the prisoner in hand, Key is
reported to have stayed at the Indian Queen
Hotel, where he wrote the four stanzas that
eventually became our national anthem – a
collection of feelings and words grounded in
faith, patriotism, and love of country enjoyed by
generations of Americans on the Fourth of July
and so many other occasions.
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