The Star-Spangled Banner

During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key was the District Attorney for the District of Columbia in Washington. When he learned that his good friend, Dr. William Beanes of Maryland was taken prisoner by a British fleet, Key decided to go rescue him. During the rescue attempt, British officials detained Key.

While he was being held in Maryland, he witnessed the battle at Fort McHenry. The next morning he saw that the American flag was still there. This scene inspired Key to write a poem entitled The Star- Spangled Banner, which he quickly jotted down on the back of an old letter.

The Original Handwritten Poem

Mary Pickersgill, a resident of Baltimore, sewed the flag that inspired Key. Major Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry asked Pickersgill to make the flag very large so that the British fleet could see it. The flag was originally 42 by 40 feet. Today it is 34 by 30 feet and can be seen at The National Museum of American History in Washington DC.

The actual Star Spangled Banner now at the Smithsonian Museum

The Star-Spangled Banner became the official American national anthem by executive order of President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Congress did not confirm the order until 1931. The Star-Spangled Banner was first played at a baseball game in 1918 during the Word Series as a patriotic gesture to the American soldiers fighting in World War I. Officials were thinking about canceling the World Series because of the war, but decided not to when they realized that the troops were looking forward to the games. The anthem was played during the seventh-inning stretch. Today the anthem is traditionally played at the beginning of all major sporting events in the US.

The first published musical score for the Star Spangled Banner