Since there were no groups of American soldiers in the cargo hold, there was no such conversation between Key and the prisoners. Is Northern capitalized? This flag flew from 1861 to 1863. While the conservators worked, the public looked on. While there are some details that differ from the Surgernor video, it is the same story. He said 'Do you see that flag way up on the rampart?' [34][35] In 1912, Appleton formally donated it to the Smithsonian. How it ended United States victory. : Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. More than 1,500 cannonballs, shells, and rockets are fired, but only inflict light damage thanks to fortification efforts completed before the battle. [46], Due to environmental and light damage, a four-phase restoration project began in May 1999. You are free.' 12. Visitors are allowed a clear view of the flag, while it remains protected in a controlled environment. In addition to the gigantic 42 x 30 foot garrison flag (now the Star-Spangled Banner), Pickersgill and the young women who helped her also sewed a smaller "storm flag." The garrison flag is raised every morning at reveille, but on this daySeptember 14, 1814its presence has special significance. Victoria "Tory" Altman is an Education Specialist in the Office of Education Outreach. He had successfully negotiated with the British for the release of an American prisoner but was held onboard because an assault was imminent. It is likely that they kept the flag hidden in their home in Baltimore for the duration of the war, but Margaret Appleton Baker, Georgiana's daughter, told theNew York Heraldin 1895 that the flag had actually been sent to England. While the home where he lived in 1814 is no longer standing, there is a monument at its former site of 34th and M Street. Using a storm flag in those conditions would have been standard practice. Regulations of the War Department: Each morning began with a round from a six-pounder and musical accompaniment as the flag was lifted aloft. It was populated by 1,000 American troops who were armed with dozens of cannons and thousands of pounds of gunpowder. [9][10] Armistead specified "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance". Original size: 30 feet by 42 feet. There is so much wrong with this segment of the narration. The job went out to a 37-year-old widow. The attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore's harbor was a pivotal moment in the War of 1812 as it successfully thwarted the Chesapeake Bay campaign the Royal Navy had been waging against the United States. At 9:00 a.m., Fort McHenrys massive garrison flag measuring an imposing 30'x 42' was raised over the ramparts, as four young fifers and drummers played the national tune Yankee Doodle. Aboard the frigate HMS Hebrus, a young midshipman remembered: And as the last vessel spread her canvas to the wind, the Americans hoisted a most superb and splendid ensign on theirbattery, and fired at the same time a gun of defiance.The great ensign, receiving the sun's early light, could be seen plainly for miles. But when he sees the large flag flying over the fort on the morning of September 14, he knows the fort held. The prayer 'God, keep that flag flying where we last saw it.'. a star-shaped fort perfectly situated on the Baltimore Harbor. Join us online July 24-26! Major Armistead commissioned Baltimore flag maker Mary Pickersgill to craft this dramatic emblem for his garrison as he was making preparations for Fort McHenrys defense. Stop the Largest Rezoning in Orange County History, O Say Can You See: The Bombardment of Fort McHenry, Short History of The Star Spangled Banner, Let it Rain Militia: The Critical Battle for the Chesapeake, Bombardment of Fort McHenry | Sep 13-14, 1814, Chesapeake Campaign | Apr 23, 1813 - Sep 14, 1814. The flag we all know as the star-spangled banner is a massive 30 by 42 feet in size and sewn of wool bunting. She is also thought to have begun the tradition of giving pieces of the flag away to honor her husband's memory, as well as the memories of the soldiers who defended the fort under his command. What if it gets dirty? Most of us have memorized it as a child, but we've never really thought about what it means. Now, as preparations for a British attack proceeded, the three-story-tall flag waved atop the 90-foot flagpole at Fort McHenry, its bold red, white and blue geometry unmistakable. The imposing Fort McHenry, at the mouth of the inner harbor, provided the linchpin for the American defenses. That same year, Preble had the first known photograph of it taken at the Boston Navy Yard and exhibited it at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, where he stored it until 1876. Spotted something? Through the clouds of the war the stars of that banner still shone in my view, and I saw the discomforted host of its assailants driven back in ignominy to theirships. ", In this 1993 photo from Smithsonian Archives, the flag is shown inside the museum's center hall. During the War of 1812, the people of Baltimore believed that the British would attack the city. But the inspiring banner he glimpsed may only have been raised at daylight. As he (Key) went back up on board to arrange for their passage to the shore, the admiral came and he said 'We have a slight problem.' Between 12th and 14th Streets 15-star flag above Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore, Md. Key put his thoughts on paper while still on board the ship, setting his words to the tune of a popular English song. We're launching interpretation of African American history at 7 key battlefields, located in 5 states, spanning 3 wars. The British set sail for New Orleans. [23], In 1873, Appleton lent the flag to George Henry Preble, a naval officer who had written a popular history of the American flag. A replica 17'x25' storm flag flying over Fort McHenry . The failed bombardment of Fort McHenryforces Brooke to abandon the land assault on Baltimore. Whether or not Francis Scott Key actually visited Fort McHenry that day, he would have not seen a stack of "patriots' bodies" holding the flag pole upright. Major George Armistead, the Forts commanding officer, desired "to have a flag so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance. He wanted to be sure the British could see the United States colors from their distant warships. Published: September 9, 2020. As twilight began to fall and as the haze hung over the ocean as it does at sunset, suddenly, the British war fleet unleashed. George Washington never said that. They made the stars, each measuring two feet in diameter, from cottona luxury item at the time. On the night of Saturday the 10th inst. He withdrew without firing a shot, but outlined a proposalfor two flanking night assaults on the vulnerable American right flank, while a third column would make a feint on the American left after midnight on September 14. 15-star flag above Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore, Md. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! Superior British weapons pounded the fort from newly designed bomb ships anchored safely out of range of the fort's own guns. Chafingat the need to coordinate with an officer so junior to his rank, all Cochrane could do was reiterate his assessment and make his disapproval known, hoping that it would sway Brooke. The Confederate States of America chose a pattern for their national flag that is strikingly similar to the Star-Spangled Banner, the flag of the Union. 12. Despite attempts to fire back, the British ships were just out of range of the Fort's cannons, and so by 11:00 a.m., General Armistead gave orders to slow things down to save ammunition. When Confederate soldiers carried their national flag into battle, its stars and stripes led to confusionespecially when the smoke and wind of battle wrapped the flag around its staff. "Georgiana was the only child born at the fort, and she was named for her father," says Thomassen-Krauss. Each of the eight stars represented a Confederate state in March 1861 when the flag was adopted. The hissing rockets and the fiery shells glittered in the air, threatening destruction as they fell,later recalled a young British sailor, in a description that sounds straight out of a poem, Whilst to add solemnity to this scene of devastation, the rain fell in torrents the thunder broke inmighty peals after each successive flash of lightening, that for a moment illuminated the surrounding darkness.But with no coordinated infantry assaults, Cochrane began to draw down his thrust. [25][26] He then put the flag on display at the headquarters of the New England Historic Genealogical Society for several weeks. The garrison flag, according to eyewitness accounts, wasn't raised until the morning. That night, Key finalized the four stanzas of the Defense of Fort McHenry., Three days later, the poem was printed on a broadside alongside the melody to a popular English tavern 1780 tune, To Anacreon in Heaven.A thousand copies were distributed to the garrison of Fort McHenry: A young militia soldier wrote his family We have a Song composed by Mr. Key of G[eorge] Town which was presented to every individual in the fort.By mid-autumn, further pnntmgs contained musical notations and a new title: The Star-Spangled Banner.. [8] The smaller of the two flags would be the Storm Flag, to be more durable and less prone to fouling in inclement weather. [25] Preble had the flag quilted to a canvas sail, and unfurled it at the Boston Navy Yard to take the first known photograph of it. [27] It was then kept in the Society's vault until 1876, when it was taken to the vault of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Bonus fact in response to a question from the comments: The Star-Spangled Banner flag does not have burn marks on it. He convinced the British to release Beanes. Donations to the Trust are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under the law. At 4:30 a.m., the American batteries fell silent, followed at 7:30 a.m. by the last British bomb to arc over the Patapsco River toward Fort McHenry. March 1, 2007 A conservator works on the Star-Spangled Banner in 1914. [14][15] When the British ships were unable to pass the fort and penetrate the harbor, the attack was ended. 1. [31], Eben Appleton was highly protective of the flag and disliked the attention it brought him. Our FREE Virtual Teacher Institute is the can't miss online educator event of the summer. ", 2400 East Fort Avenue It can cause a student to incorrectly answer an American history test question and might make you look foolish when discussing history with better-informed friends. 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. The second phase consisted of the most comprehensive, detailed examination of the condition and construction of the Star-Spangled Banner to date, which provided critical information for later work. Subscribe to the American Battlefield Trust's quarterly email series of curated stories for the curious-minded sort! For example, it claims the song was written during the American Revolution, although it was penned more than three decades later in September 1814 -- in the final months of the War of 1812. Cookie Policy Also, there were no "hundreds" of ships in the river attacking the fort. He said 'It's full of women and children.' The Star-Spangled Banner remained in Flag Hall from 1964 until 1999, when it was moved to the conservation lab. He had witnessed Britain's twenty-five hour bombardment of the Fort, and for Key, the raising of the American flag was a triumphant symbol of bravery and perseverance. They allowed the Americans to return to their own vessel but continued guarding them. Brooke collects the main body of the British troops and presses forward. Militarily, Baltimore was a far more important city than Washington because of its thriving port and strategic location. For three hours, the bombardment proceeded through lashing rain, thunder and lightning. For making the Star-Spangled Banner, Mary was paid $405.90. "Our goal was to extend [the flag's] usable lifetime," says Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss, the conservator for the project. Sign up to receive the latest information on the American Battlefield Trust's efforts to blaze The Liberty Trail in South Carolina. In 1873, Georgiana loaned the flag to George Preble, a flag historian who until that time had thought the flag was lost. Among the preparations were upgrades of Fort McHenry, a 32-pound cannon battery along the waters edge, fortifications at Lazaretto Point, and additional batteries arrayed along the banks of the Patapsco. Because of this conflict and the protractedness of it, they had accumulated prisoners on both sides. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here. Undoing her work required unbelievable precision. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Let us know!. He has published several books and numerous articles. The New York Herald Tribune wrote that the song had words that nobody can remember to a tune nobody can sing.. Support Outdoor Classrooms at Seven Key Battlefields. Still, the decision for ground troops to either advance or retreat fell to Colonel Arthur Brooke, who had assumed command following the death of the much-esteemed General Robert Ross at North Point the previous day. Or, maybe it was another flag. One of the soldiers who was in the fort during the 25-hour bombardment wrote, "We were like pigeons tied by the legs to be shot at. From the harbor below Fort McHenry, these events were witnessed without understanding that they were standard practice by those aboard a Baltimore packet vessel, President, now serving as the U.S. flag-of-truce vessel. This could have resulted from metal buckles or straps or tacks on belts used to hold the flag. The hours passed slowly, but in the clearing smoke of "the dawn's early light" on September 14, he saw the American flagnot the British Union Jackflying over the fort, announcing an American victory.