What was the original Star Spangled Banner called?

What was the original Star Spangled Banner called?

The Defence of Fort M’Henry
On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort M’Henry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812.

What was the American flag in 1812?

The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner, or the Great Garrison Flag, was the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. It is on exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Is the national anthem the same as the Star Spangled Banner?

The Star-Spangled Banner, national anthem of the United States, with music adapted from the anthem of a singing club and words by Francis Scott Key. After a century of general use, the four-stanza song was officially adopted as the national anthem by an act of Congress in 1931.

Where is the original Star Spangled Banner?

National Museum of American History
The original Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song that would become our national anthem, is among the most treasured artifacts in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Why is our flag called the Star Spangled Banner?

This gave key inspiration to write a poem known as “Defense of Fort McHenry,” which would later become known as the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In the years to follow, many Americans began calling the American flag the Star-Spangled Banner because it was Key’s poem. Key’s poem was inspirational to say the least.

Did dead bodies hold up the flag at Fort Mchenry?

Bodies of the dead were not used to hold up the flag pole — a 42 by 30 foot flag has to be on a well-anchored pole, not held up by a few dead bodies stacked around it.

What was the original name of the Star Spangled Banner?

“To Anacreon in Heaven” (or “The Anacreontic Song”), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key’s poem and renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner”, it soon became a well-known U.S. patriotic song.

Why was the Star Spangled Banner called the defense of Fort McHenry?

Key, who was on diplomatic mission, was inspired after witnessing the American victory at Fort McHenry, which he believed was an impossible task. Before it was named “The Star-Spangled Banner,” it was called “The Defense of Fort McHenry.” Key eventually changed the name to better represent the flag and the United States.

Are there any surviving copies of the Star Spangled Banner?

One of two surviving copies of the 1814 broadside printing of the “Defence of Fort M’Henry”, a poem that later became the lyrics of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, the national anthem of the United States.

When did Francis Scott Key write the Star Spangled Banner?

On September 14, 1814, Maryland lawyer Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which used John Stafford Smith’s tune to create the U.S. national anthem. Even though it was written in 1814, it wouldn’t become our national anthem until more than a century later.