During the War of 1812, the Battle of Fort McHenry took place. The event marked a critical defense by American forces against the British navy. But aside from that, this led the poet Francis Scott Key to create a poem titled the “Star-Spangled Banner,” Little did he know, his Fort McHenry poem would soon become America’s national anthem.
The words he said on that day would be the inspiration for generations to come and would become one of the most popular songs of all time. It would come to represent American bravery and determination in the face of insurmountable odds as despite the overwhelming might of the British Empire, the people of Fort McHenry would hold firm and the Americans would eventually triumph over the British Navy in this battle.
How This Battle Inspired the Fort McHenry Poem
The War of 1812 was a major conflict between the United States and Great Britain and emerged amid the larger Napoleonic Wars due to Britain’s trade restrictions and imprisonment of American sailors. One of the major battles was the shelling of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. On September 13, the Royal Navy arrived in the bay and fired upon the fort for over 25 hours, trying to force the Americans to surrender the city.
At the time, Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and amateur poet was present during the battle. He was sent abroad the British flagship to try and negotiate the release of American prisoners. This gave him a front-row seat to the battle. He watched as the British relentlessly bombarded the forts, but after a full day of fighting, he saw the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry. This sight inspired Key to create the Fort McHenry Poem.
While still onboard the British ship, Key began writing the poem on the back of a letter he had with him. The Fort McHenry poem was originally called “Defence of Fort M’Henry,”. At the time, it was sung to the tune of, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a popular British song. The song was later called “The Star-Spangled Banner” and became a hit across the country and soon every American was tuning into the Fort McHenry poem. It grew so popular that the US government decided to make it their national anthem.
An expert from the Fort McHenry poem can be seen here.
“O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
-Francis Scott Key, American Poet.
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 through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
Around the same time, the Napoleonic War was reaching its end as the Emperor of France, Napoleon Boneparte wrote his letter of surrender.
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