Oh, Say Can You Sing!

Happy Birthday, America! This month our country is 249 years old.

We are one year shy of 250 years old! While we celebrate the great event officially on Friday, July 4th, in reality, the whole month is dedicated to the country. From barbecues to fireworks, boat rides to parades, this is a wonderful time to reflect on our country, where we are, where we have been, and where we want to be.

Regardless of how you celebrate our Country this month, one celebratory staple you are sure to encounter at any major event is the singing our beautiful national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. However, do you know the story behind this song? While you may recall it was written by Francis Scott Key, did you know why it was written, when it became our national anthem, or even the history behind the actual flag thatinspired it? Well, here you go, get ready to learn about this historic song.

The Star-Spangled Banner was written in 1814 (nearly 40 years after our country was founded) by Francis Scott Key following the battle with the British at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry during the war of 1812. As the stanzas relay, on September 14, 1814 after a night of heavy bombardment by British forces and a very rainy night at the Fort, in the early morning hours American soldiers raised an enormous 15-star and 15-striped flag over the Fort signifying that the Fort had withstood the assault. The actual flag had been commissioned by the commander of the Fort, Major George Armistead and sewn by Mary Pickersgill and her team of sewers a full year prior. Measuring 30 feet by 42 feet the flag was designed to be large and visible from a great distance. (For comparison, today’s standard flags with 50-stars and 13-stripes are typically three feet by five feet.) To have a sense of the enormity of this flag flying over Fort McHenry, picture the size of a 1,260 sq. ft. canvas sheet flying over your head, basically the footprint of a two-three bedroom house!

In a ship eight miles down river, under British control and anxiously waiting out the heavy battle for a sign that the city of Baltimore, and by extension the nation could be saved, American lawyer Francis Scott Key saw the colossal flag flying proudly through the clearing smoke. The prior night’s actions and this amazing vision inspired him to write a four-verse poem called Defence of Fort M’Henry. The poem was eventually set to a popular British tune at the time and renamed The Star-Spangled Banner. It changed how our country saw the U.S. flag and made it a major symbol of patriotism.

Over the 19th century, the song became one of the nation’s most loved patriotic songs. During the Civil War, it gained a special military place through its playing during ceremonial settings, such as the raising and lowering of the colors. Starting in 1917, a campaign began to have Congress recognize The Star Spangled Banner as the official anthem of the country. In 1931, a bill making the song our national anthem passed in Congress and was signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on March 3, 1931, over 117 years after its creation.

Today, the actual flag that inspired our national anthem, rests as a permanent gift to the nation in the Smithsonian Institution, where it can be seen by any and all visitors.

With this amazing story in mind, this July, I encourage you to sing our national anthem proudly and when you have a chance to see the U.S. flag, think about how lucky we are to see it flying above our heads. God Bless America!

By Cheryl Thode