–From The Legal Alert
The United States was engaged in a second war with England from June 1812 to the spring of 1815. The war was creatively called the War of 1812. Many naval battles were fought, and by 1814 the British were attempting to split this country in half. Washington D.C., was captured and burned. This was the time when President James Madison’s wife, Dolly Madison, became famous for courageously staying behind in the capitol as the British were approaching until she was assured that vital state documents and, most notably, the famous portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, had been removed to safety and were saved from destruction.
After taking Washington D.C., the British marched toward Baltimore where a mere handful of 1,000 patriots were manning the cannons at Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If Baltimore was to be captured, the British would have to take Fort McHenry first. The attack began on the morning of September 13, 1814, as nineteen British ships began pounding the fort with rockets and mortar shells, and continued their bombardment for the next twenty-five hours.
Surprisingly, on board one of the British ships was a young American lawyer named Francis Scott Key, who had been sent to negotiate for the release of Dr. William Beanes, an American prisoner of the British. Even though the British captain agreed to the release, the two Americans were required to stay aboard until the attack on Baltimore was over.
The bombardment continued during the entire night of September 13th, as the two Americans heard the bombs bursting, saw the red glare of rockets, and waited to see what the outcome would be. They knew the Americans were resisting. But toward morning, the bombardment ceased and a dreadful silence fell. The men knew that either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag now flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag would still be flying.
The lawyer and the doctor waited eagerly together for the dawn. On the morning of September 14th, Key and Beanes were overjoyed to see that the American flag was still flying over Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night, which was published in newspapers and swept the nation. It was later put to music, and in 1931, Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.
Now that you know the story, here are the words. You probably already know the first stanza, but have you ever heard the last?
Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto – In God is our trust.
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
