The Star-Spangled Banner

.

.

copy of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was the first printed edition to combine the words and sheet music. Copies such as these were sold from a catalog of Thomas Carr's Carr Music Store in Baltimore. Currently this is one of only ten copies known to exist, and is housed in the Library of Congress.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics were written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland by British ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. It became popular as a patriotic song after it was put to the tune of the English drinking song To Anacreon in Heaven, but was only made the national anthem by a Congressional resolution on March 3, 1931.

Early history

Because Key and Skinner had heard much of the preparations for the Baltimore attack, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise, and later back onto the Minden sloop, waiting behind the British fleet. On September 13, at 7 a.m., the fighting began, continuing for 25 hours of British bombardment all through the night until September 14 while the British fleet attacked the fort during the Battle of Baltimore. During the night, Key witnessed the battle, and was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the enormous American flag still standing in the midst of the battle. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a part of the Smithsonian Institution.
The next day, Key wrote a poem aboard the ship on the back of a letter he had in his pocket, continuing to write during the sail. After being released with Skinner in Baltimore at twilight on September 16, Key finished the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel where he was staying, entitling it Defence of Fort McHenry.

Key gave his poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph H. Nicholson, who suggested that the poem be set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven," a popular English drinking song dating from around 1800, written by John Stafford Smith. Nicholson took the poem to a printer. These broadside copies, the song's first known printing, were printed anonymously in Baltimore on September 17 — of these, two known copies still exist.

On September 20, both the Baltimore Patriot and The American printed the song, with the note "Tune: Anacreon in Heaven." The song instantly became popular, with 17 newspapers from Georgia to New Hampshire printing it. Soon after, Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together under the title "The Star-Spangled Banner." The song quickly became popular, and the first public performance of "the Star-Spangled Banner" took place in October, when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang the song at Captain McCauley's tavern.

In 1916, Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military occasions. Two years later, in 1918, the song was first played at a baseball game; in the World Series, the band started an impromptu performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the seventh-inning stretch. The players and spectators stood at attention, took off their hats, and sang, giving rise to a tradition that is repeated at almost every professional baseball game in United States today.

It was adopted as the national anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931.

Adaptations and modern history

When sung in public (before major sporting events, for example), for reasons of brevity, verses after the first are typically omitted; relatively few Americans know the words beyond the first verse.

Trivia