The first arm and second arms of the campaign were directed at Washington D.C., which the British captured and burned on August 24, 1814. The third arm went up the Chesapeake, aimed at taking Baltimore. Baltimore was defended on the river by Fort McHenry, which the British had to take before proceeding into Baltimore. On the evening of August 13, 1814, British ships approached the Fort and began bombarding it in preparation for its capture. The bombardment went on until the morning of August 14.
On board one of the British ships was a young American who had been sent to negotiate the release of some prisoners held by the British. His name was Francis Scott Key.
Because he had seen the British ships, he was not allowed to leave the ship and was on board during the bombardment. There was considerable during the night of August 13 - 14, that the fort would fall. To his relief, when the sun came up on the morning of August 14th, Key saw that the flag was still flying over the fort and that the fort had not been taken.
Key reported the good news to the American prisoners below deck, but later in the day, decided to write a poem commemorating the event. He called his poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry".
He first published his poem on August 20 when he was returned to shore. He intended to fit it to the rhythms of composer John Stafford Smith's "To Anacreon in Heaven", and English drinking song which had become popular in the United States. Key had already used the song as a setting for his 1805 song "When the Warrior Returns," celebrating U.S. heroes of the First Barbary War. He renamed his poem, now a song, "The Star Spangled Banner" which became quickly popular and was often sung at patriotic gatherings.
It was recognized for official use by the United States navy in 1889. President Woodrow Wilson reaffirmed this use in 1916. The song was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931, which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
The story of the flag is also interesting. When the city of Baltimore became aware of the danger to the city by the British, they decided that Fort McHenry needed a proper flag flying over the fort. The commissioned a local flag maker, Mary Pickersgill to sew a flag 17 by 25 feet, and immense job. She worked day night for weeks sewing up the flag, but it was ready on time. Her son later describes the work.
“The flag being so very large, mother was obliged to obtain permission from the proprietors of Claggetts brewery which was in our neighborhood, to spread it out in their malt house; and I remember seeing my mother down on the floor, placing the stars: after the completion of the flag, she superintended the topping of it, having it fastened in the most secure manner to prevent its being torn away by (cannon) balls: the wisdom of her precaution was shown during the engagement: many shots piercing it, but it still remained firm to the staff. Your father (Col. Armistead) declared that no one but the maker of the flag should mend it, and requested that the rents should merely be bound around. The flag contained, I think, four hundred yards of bunting, and my mother worked many nights until 12 o’clock to complete it in the given time.”
When they got finished sewing they had the flag for Fort McHenry
After the battle, the flag was retrieved and later sent to the Smithsonian Institute, where it is today.
Note that the flag has 15 stars, but also 15 stripes. When the first states, Vermont and Kentucky, were added after the original 13, they decided to add a new star for each state and also a stripe. Later when the 16th and 17th states were added, it became too bulky to add new stripes, so they reverted to the original 13 stripes, for the original 13 colonies, and only add stars for new states.
To give an idea of the size of this flag, a picture was taken in 1873 at a memorial service in Boston.
