1After the American Revolution, America and Great Britain fought a second war known as the War of 1812. 2When British troops occupied Washington, D.C., in 1814, they arrested Dr. William Beanes of Maryland and imprisoned him on a British warship in the Chesapeake Bay. 3Friends of the doctor asked Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, and John Skinner of Baltimore to try to secure the doctor’s release.
4Key and Skinner successfully reached the British fleet and negotiated Beanes’ release. 5Before they could head home, however, the British suddenly detained them aboard a truce ship. 6The British fleet was about to begin it’s assault on Fort McHenry a fort guarding the entrance to the harbor of Baltimore.
7Key watched from the truce ship in the bay as British warships bombarded the fort throughout the afternoon and night. 8The Americans managed to defend the fort. 9On the following morning, they raised a large United States flag on the fort’s 90-foot flagpole. 10Key was so inspired by the sight that he composed a poem on the back of a letter he had in his pocket.
11Originally titled “The Defense of Fort McHenry,” the poem soon became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner”. 12The poem was set to music in 1814 and became a patriotic song. 13It did not become America’s national anthem until 1931.