September 14, 1814
The Star-Spangled Banner
The night a huge American flag inspired a poem that became our national anthem.
The Story
During the War of 1812, British ships attacked Fort McHenry near Baltimore all night long.
A young lawyer named Francis Scott Key watched from a small boat in the harbor.
All through the dark, rockets glared and cannons boomed — Key wondered if the fort could hold on.
When morning came, he saw a giant American flag with 15 stars still flying over the fort.
So happy he could hardly breathe, he wrote a poem that we now sing as 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'
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