How the Star Spangled Banner came to be written by Francis Scott Key.
Most of us know the Star Spangled Banner by heart. Most of us sing that song and never realize how it came to be. Just what does our flag mean to us?
The song, which became our national anthem was written by Frances Scott Key. He was not a song writer, but a lawyer.
The American Government was engaged in a great fight for the colonies. Could the 13 states become a union that they said was God breathed and survive?
As the battle wore on, casualties became heavy. Both sides furious in conflict took prisoners.
The American government came to Frances Scott Key and said “Would you go and try to arrange a prisoner exchange? Would you see if you can get some American boys released and brought back to our colonies, back to our soil?”
They explained “There is a large boat that lies just outside Ft. McHenry, near Baltimore, Mr. Key, and inside that boat they have our men. You’ll have to go to them and see if they will agree to this exchange.
So, Frances Scott Key was authorized by the newly formed government to go and offer one British prisoner for one American soldier.
As he made his way to that great boat, once on deck, he realized the enormity of it. He was ushered into the presence of a man whom they called the Admiral of her Majesty’s fleet.
He explained the principal, 1 soldier for 1 soldier. They deliberated, they thought, they questioned. Suddenly Frances Scott Key heard what was music to his ears. “Yes Sir, we will agree. You may take one soldier off this boat for every British soldier you now hold prisoner, whom you will give to us in exchange.
Frances Scott Key was beside himself. He had come in awe not thinking he had a chance to secure the freedom of these boys.
Then he realized no one had yet told these boys they would be freed. He ask the Admiral if he could have the privilege of going below and telling the boys of their new freedom.
They loosed a great huge board and lowered Frances Scott Key into the great bowels of that ship.
There he saw something that he said would never ever be taken from his mind. There in the dark caverns of that ship, chained to each other, every 3rd one fastened to the floor, held in place, were young American boys.
Most of them, he said, was broken in body, some he was sure would not live out the night.
“Men, you are to be freed! You are to go home tonight. Tomorrow we’re going to reunite you with your loved ones. You’re Free! Do you hear me?”
They looked at him with glazed eyes. Then they ask a question which positively stymied him in his tracks. “Mr. Key, are you telling us that you’re gonna just let us out of here to go home? Are we not to be allowed to fight again? Will they not let us fight?”
“Listen boys, you don’t have to fight any more. Your country can’t ask any more of you. Look at the price you’ve paid. You go home. Let us honor you. Let us make you heroes. Men, for you, the battle is over. The battle’s done.”
“Mr. Key, you don’t understand. For us the battle is not over, until the cause is won. Until we’ve secured what we’ve set out to do.” Frances Scott Key was moved. He couldn’t believe the spirit of these boys.
He made his way out of the insides of that ship. He found the Admiral and said “Sir, I beg of you, with God’s speed, get these boys out of here quickly. Move quickly!”
Only now the Admiral’s demeanor had changed. “Mr. Key, the release of those boys isn’t important any more. Doesn’t really matter what happens to them.”
F. Scott Key gripped with fear said “What’s the matter with you? Are you gonna renege on your word? You’re an officer in her Majesty’s fleet. You cannot as a gentleman go back on your promise and commitment to me.”
“No. No Mr. Key, I’m not going back on my word to you. But, there’s not gonna be an America tomorrow. It’s all over.”
“What are you talking about. It’s all over?
“Mr. Key, come over here. I want to show you something.” As they stood on the port side of that great ship, he said “tell me what you see. “
“I see America. Right over there, that is Ft. McHenry, that’s our flag. That’s my land, the nation I represent today.”
“Now Mr. Key, come over here and stand on the starboard side and look out and tell me what you see.”
“I don’t know. Just a lot of water, a lot of sky and a lot of water, and some little black specks.”
“Mr. Key, those little black specks are the British fleet. With the wind at their back, they’ll lie anchored here in this bay within a matter of 2-3 hours. My government, Mr. Key, has issued an ultimatum to your nation. This folly of independence is over. You are to be subject to Britain. Should you tonight, not lay down those things you call the “Stars and Stripes“, that flag of rebellion, if it does not come down, before the sun sets, it’s our instruction, with this fleet, to remove Fort McHenry from the face of the earth. We’ll literally blast it to the ground.”
Frances Scott Key said “No listen! Your out of your mind. There’s nothing at Ft. McHenry that’s of interest to you. It’s manned by civilians. No armament, nothing there. All they keep there is a lot of clothing and quartermasters materials. Leave that fort alone.”
‘Mr. Key, tonight sir, your flag comes down, or we’ll level that fort. Do you see that flag over there on the rampart, My Key? If that flag comes down, before the sun sets, we’ll leave your nation be and you’ll return to the fold of Great Britain. But if that flag continues to fly, Sir, it’ll mean rebellion. It will mean that you’ve decided not to honor reason and good sense, and we’ll blow you to the ground.”
Frances Scott Key stood there and watched as the ships began to come in. They made their way in and he tried to count them. 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40. Then he realized he couldn’t count them.
Now he watches as the gunmen began to prepare the cannons. He watches as they bring out the sulphur cakes, the charges and the rams. He suddenly realized what an incredible amount of armament was here and no nation on the face of the earth has ever successfully withstood that fleet!
He goes back down below and sees the men inside the ship, the prisoners. He tells them of what he’s seen. The fact of what’s to happen tonight. The fact that the flag is to be lowered and if not, Ft. McHenry is doomed.
“Mr. Key, you gotta do this for us. Some how you gotta tell them not to lower that flag. That flag can’t come down tonight, My Key.”
“Listen boy, don’t you understand” If that flag doesn’t come down tonight, you may never get out of here. You may rot and die in this ship. Don’t you understand?”
“Listen Mr. Key. It doesn’t matter what happens to us. What matters is what happens to that flag. That flag is our colors. That’s the flag we followed into the charge. That’s the flag we buried our brothers in. That flag is AMERICA. Don’t you understand? She’s God breathed. You can’t let them lower that flag tonight, Mr. Key or all would be in vain.”
“Listen, Mr. Key. There’s some cracks in the decking up above us. If those of us who are not chained to the floor, will stand, we can hear better. When you go back on deck, if you will put your mouth on that decking and scream down at us, we can hear you and Mr. Key we just gotta know what’s happening. Don’t leave us down here tonight without knowing what’s happening”.
Frances Scott Key went back up on deck where he could see the sailors of that fleet. He said all eyes were trained on one flag. Everybody waited to see if someone would come forward to bring that flag down. And it just furled in the wind.
Then darkness and quiet settled completely over those ships.
Suddenly there was more noise than he had ever heard in his life. He realized he was hearing over 100 cannons in unison . He heard the orders, the screams of the men as they moved to handle the hot metal, the hot iron. “Load. Ram. Charge. Fire.” He thought to himself “Oh no. America is doomed. We’re lost. What could stand against that?”
An hour. An hour-and-ten-minutes. He stood watching. Then he heard screams coming below his feet. “Mr. Key. Mr. Key. Can you hear us, Mr. Key? What’s happening?”
He had forgotten the men. He ran over and put his mouth to the decking and screamed “I can’t see anything. Men, it’s dark out here. There’s so much fire. So much noise, and I can’t see”.
“Listen Mr. Key, listen. Wait till those phosphorus bombs explode. We can hear them. Then you’ll see a red glare and Mr. Key you watch. Then you can see if the flag is still there.”
Frances Scott Key looked up and then in a red glare, he saw the flag, still streaming at the top.
All through the night, they pounded that flag and finally at 3 or 4 in the morning, with all that armament spent, the enemy fell into quiet exhaustion and waited for the dawn.
As the dawn came, there stood our flag at the top. America that night had not fallen.
Mr. Key made his way quickly inside that great fort. Once inside, he said he saw no handful of dirt in it’s original place. All of that huge armament had literally torn that fort apart.
Then he saw something that stirred his spirit. The flag, on the rampart, with all that armament aimed at it had been hit again and again. Because of the successive beating, it had dropped and a patriot, a man whose name we’ll never know, whose face we’ll never see, ran from his place of safety and grabbed that flag and held it with his own body.
He knew that all those cannons were aimed at that flag and that pole, but if the colors were down, American was done. He KNEW he would die. And he did die quickly. But another man who saw what he had done, raised from his place and he too grabbed that flag. Then another and another until by morning, what Mr. Key called a cement of human bodies held that flag in place.
Frances Scott Key took a pen and began to write. “Oh say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad strip’s and bright stars through the perilous fight, ore the rampart we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there. Oh say, does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave? O’re the land of the free? And the home of the brave?”
As read by Nella Jenkins and broadcast on Sirius XM’s enLighten. Writer unknown.
Marlin
