1. The Star-Spangled Banner

2. Background The War of 1812- British vs. Americans
A fort is a military building designed for defense during war
Fort McHenry is in Baltimore, Maryland
In 1814, British Warships anchored near Fort McHenry with plans to launch an attack.

3. Before the Battle of Ft. McHenry
During the Summer of 1814, Ft. McHenry’s commanding officer, Major George Armistead, ordered a flag that was “so large the the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.”
Mary Pickersgill and her daughter, Caroline, were experienced Baltimore Flag Makers. They were contracted to make two flags- one that was 30’ x 42’ and one that was 17’ x 25’ to fly during storms or bad weather.

4. Important People
Francis Scott Key, a young American lawyer and amateur poet.
Dr. William Beane, an elderly physician
treated both American and British soldiers
was being held as a prisoner on a British warship just before the battle of Ft. McHenry
Lt. Colonel George Armistead, commander of Ft. McHenry
Mary Pickersgill, flag maker who sewed the flag that flew over Ft. McHenry
Joshua Barney, commander of a flotilla of barges and gunboats that defended Chesapeake Bay against the British Invasion
Dolly Madison, the First Lady of the US, credited with saving an important portrait of George Washington while DC

5. During the Battle
Francis Scott Key boarded a British warship to negotiate the release of Dr. Beane, but was held captive overnight as the British launched a sneak-attack on Fort McHenry
Francis Scott Key watch the battle from the warship all through the night. looking to see if the American flag was still flying
If it was flying, he knew that meant victory for the Americans

6. After the Battle
In the morning after the battle, Francis Scott Key was delighted to see the flag still flying over the fort that he began to write a poem to commemorate the occasion, with a note that it should be sung to the old English melody “To Anachreon in Heaven.”
...how is this ironic?

7. The Star Spangled Banner
“The Star Spangled Banner” was originally a poem, written by Francis Scott Key, with three verses called “The Defense of Fort McHenry.
It was written on the back of an old envelope, the only paper Francis Scott Key had available to him on the warship where he was being held captive at the time.

8. After the War
1912- the original Star-Spangled Banner (flag that was sewn by the Pickersgills) was given to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. as a gift. It’s still there today!
1916- President Woodrow Wilson ordered that “The Star- Spangled Banner” be played at military and naval occasions.
1932- “The Star-Spangled Banner” became our national anthem. The President at the time was Herbert Hoover.