STAR SPANGLED BANNER WRITTEN BY FRANCIS SCOTT KEY
Baltimore, Maryland (JFK+50) The words of "The Star Spangled Banner" were originally penned by Francis Scott Key* on September 14, 1814, during the British attack on Fort McHenry near Baltimore, Maryland.
Key was detained on a British truce ship far out in the harbor when he was inspired to write "In Defense of Ft. McHenry" on the back of a letter. The lyrics were published in Baltimore on September 20, and later set to the tune "To Anacreon in Heaven".
President Woodrow Wilson signed an Executive Order in 1916 which directed the song be played at military and naval occasions. The Star Spangled Banner did not become Our National Anthem, however, until President Herbert Hoover signed the law making it so in 1931.
SOURCES
"Eighty-five years of Mangling the 'Star-Spangled Banner as Our National Anthem," by Calvin Lawrence, Jr., ABC News, March 3, 2016, www.abcnewws.go.com/
"Facts About the U.S. 'National Anthem'", US Department of Education, www2.ed.gov/
Francis Scott Key Park
Baltimore, Maryland (JFK+50) The words of "The Star Spangled Banner" were originally penned by Francis Scott Key* on September 14, 1814, during the British attack on Fort McHenry near Baltimore, Maryland.
Key was detained on a British truce ship far out in the harbor when he was inspired to write "In Defense of Ft. McHenry" on the back of a letter. The lyrics were published in Baltimore on September 20, and later set to the tune "To Anacreon in Heaven".
President Woodrow Wilson signed an Executive Order in 1916 which directed the song be played at military and naval occasions. The Star Spangled Banner did not become Our National Anthem, however, until President Herbert Hoover signed the law making it so in 1931.
*Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) was born in Frederick County, MD. His father served in the Continental Army. FSK graduated from St. John's College in 1796 & became a lawyer. Key was a slaveowner but represented slaves seeking their freedom in court. He was a founding member of the American Colonization Society & opposed abolition until his death.
SOURCES
"Eighty-five years of Mangling the 'Star-Spangled Banner as Our National Anthem," by Calvin Lawrence, Jr., ABC News, March 3, 2016, www.abcnewws.go.com/
"Facts About the U.S. 'National Anthem'", US Department of Education, www2.ed.gov/
Francis Scott Key Park
Georgetown
Washington, D.C.
Photos by John White (2011)
