“Oh Say Can You See…”

This is a re-print from: http://blog.utahscouts.org

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the fateful night which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words that became our national anthem. The story of how our national anthem came to be is not well-known and has even been fictionalized in strange ways. It is an old story and research can only reveal what history has preserved, but in honor of the day I would like to share with you the story as I have come to know it.

 

Star Spangled Banner as it looks today in the Smithsonian

The War of 1812 was a hard time for the newly formed United States of America. Less than 50 years after the American Revolution there was still uncertainty in how the “great experiment” in democracy would turn out. For reasons not completely clear to historians today the United States declared war on Britain and attacked the British territory that is now Canada, burning a large city and capturing territory in the beginning of the war. On another front US ships were sent to attack British ships because of disputes over US trade with France, an enemy of Britain at that time.

Reenactment inside Ft. McHenry


By 1814 the war was not going well for the US. The British burned the national capital, Washington D.C, and British troops were moving through the countryside harassing the citizens almost without resistance. Dr. William Beanes who was a well loved US citizen had been captured and taken prisoner by British soldiers because of mischief he committed. The British imprisoned Dr. Beanes on one of the British ships, and his friends asked President James Madison to send Francis Scott Key, a well-known lawyer, to negotiate the good doctor’s release. The president agreed and Key was taken to a British vessel for negotiations on September 5th.
In September of 1814 the British focused their attack on the port city of Baltimore, Maryland. This was an important city to the United States and the home of many of the ships which had attacked British ships. A British leader was killed in a land attack early in the month and left the British cautious to make another land-only attack against the militia that protected the city. They determined to attack first by sea with a large  naval force and then the troops would attack by land. The date for the attack came on September 13, 1814.
The British attack was well planned with 4500 troops and as many as 20 war ships. The British were known around the world for their mighty navy and the force gathered against Baltimore included 5 bomb ketches, 10 smaller ships for close combat with land targets and a rocket launcher ship. Their first target would be Fort McHenry guarding the Bay of Baltimore with 20 guns and 1000 men.
Key was treated well by the British and was successful in negotiating the release of Dr. Beanes but they were not allowed to return to shore until after the attack on Baltimore and they were forced to watch the battle from a ship positioned 8 miles from Fort McHenry. For perspective that is a little farther than the width of Utah Lake.

Fort McHenry returning fire.                                

The attack lasted 25 hours and began with British ships firing more than 1000 cannon balls, mortars, bombs and rockets while carefully staying out of range of the canons of Fort McHenry. Without seeing success the ships moved closer to the star-shaped fort in an attempt to increase their accuracy and provide cover for 1200 troops in row boats attempting to move past the fort under a cover of darkness and smoke. 

Bombardment from both sides shredded the night sky with flashes of explosions and billows of smoke. By morning the British accepted their defeat at Baltimore and backed out of range again to survey the damage.

Flag over Fort McHenry 

If you had been there standing beside Francis Scott Key on the morning of September 14, 1814 you would have seen, with him not the smaller storm flag that flew through the night, but the magnificent star-spangled banner that fort commander, Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead had commissioned for a morning like this. Flying 90 feet above the fort the 42 foot by 30 foot banner was proudly waving, showing in defiance its’ 15 stripes and 15 stars representing each of the 15 states of this new republic.
The battle was won, and when a count was made the British had lost 330 men, killed, wounded or captured. Fort McHenry on the other hand found only 4 dead and 25 wounded.
I do not see any great strategy at work here. I do not see superior defenses or training. I do not see technology advances to justify the protection offered Fort McHenry that fateful night. In every case the argument could be made that the victory should have been to the British by a wide margin.
Could you have slept through that night safe in your ship at sea if you had been there with Dr. Beane and Mr. Key?

Painting (by LTJG James Murray) of Francis Scott Key penning the Star Spangled Banner, NHHC Photo NH 86765-KN – See more here

No, you would have been watching and wondering as each bomb or rocket lit up the walls of the little fort. You would have been straining to measure the damage of each British strike against your homeland and fellow citizens. When morning came you would look searching for signs of life. Could anyone survive such an overwhelming attack?
I see, oh yes Mr. Key, I see with you the hand of God protecting the little fort through the night and sending a breeze on that glorious morning to clear away the smoke and display that beautiful symbol of our country; the inspiration for those words that we sing so proudly and hold so dear.

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d 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?

Article re-printed with permission from:
http://blog.utahscouts.org/inspiring-stories-of-scouting/oh-say-can-see/