As for those "hundreds of little dots," the British naval forces in the area numbered about 50 vessels. Every purchase supports the mission. The British attack on Baltimore had began in earnest. Rewriting history is a dangerous thing, although the consequences of digesting this particular mythology may not lead to destruction. There were 15 American states. Their vessel had been held in security by Cochranes flagship HMS Surprise out of range of the American guns. The same family that kept the Star-Spangled Banner safe during the Civil War also sympathized with the Confederacy. He wanted to be sure the British could see the United States colors from their distant warships. This response would not reach ColonelBrooke until noon, when he had advanced within two miles east of the American lines while he and Cockburn surveyed the American lines. He began his military career during the Quasi War with France in 1799 as an Ensign in the Seventh Infantry Regiment, rising quickly to Second and then First Lieutenant by May 1800. Its message was clear: The British threat had passed, and Baltimore was saved. The British hoped the loss of both Washington and Baltimore would cripple the American war effort and force peace. 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. Her son George was even arrested in 1861 for trying to sneak into Virginia to join the Confederate Army. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." Francis Scott Key said he remembered what George Washington had said. Knowing that his fort was a likely British target, Armistead told the commander of Baltimore defenses in July 1813 that he needed a flaga big one. This delay gives the American defenders in Baltimore time to bolster their defenses. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Visitor Center. The British plan to land troops on the eastern side of the city while the navy reduces the fort, allowing for naval support of the ground troops when they attack the citys defenders. American forces resistedthe dramaticBritish bombardmentof Fort McHenry and proved they could stand up to a great world power. Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Lead Stories LLC: You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. Accordingly, he launched a late evening diversionary barge attack on the western shore, the backdoor of the American land defenses. At 30 by 42. Stay up-to-date on our FREE educational resources & professional development opportunities, all designed to support your work teaching American history. 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. Cochrane sent hisnote around nightfall, without any expectationhe would receive a response before the plan hehad in hand would require him to act. Yet Key rose on the morning of September 14, 1814 and through the lens of his spyglass saw his nation's 15-star, 15-stripe flag waving defiantly over the fort. "Louisa wanted Georgiana to have it.". But a missing 15th star has never been found. He said 'The war is over, these men will be free anyway.'. The short video below introduces a method used by Amelia Fowler, who was hired in 1914 to help preserve the flag. Two eyewitnessesa British midshipman out in the harbor and an American private inside the fortrecounted seeing a flag being raised above the fort in the morning, so the logical conclusion is that the garrison flag seen that morning was not flying during the battle itself. After landing unopposed, they advance toward Baltimore. September 13. It was Fort McHenry, a star-shaped fort perfectly situated on the Baltimore Harbor. It is baffling why anyone would fabricate historical facts that would then be assumed to be authentic. [25][26] He then put the flag on display at the headquarters of the New England Historic Genealogical Society for several weeks. Baltimore, Key started composing a verse about his experience while still onboard the Tonnant, and once he was safely rowed ashore, he edited the work into four stanzas. "We, sir, are ready at Fort McHenry to defend Baltimore against invading by the enemyexcept that we have no suitable ensign to display over the Star Fort, and it is my desire to have a flag so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.". Stay up-to-date on our FREE educational resources & professional development opportunities, all designed to support your work teaching American history. This is a longer version of the same story posted in 2008. [2], With fifteen stripes, the Star-Spangled Banner remains the only official American flag to bear more than thirteen stripes.[3]. Published: September 9, 2020. As internationally intriguing as her story is, there is no evidence to support Margaret's recollections and historians agree the flag probably remained in Baltimore. 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. Only twice in its history has the Star-Spangled Banner been hidden away to keep it safe from war, though America has fought many more wars than that since 1814. [23], The Armisteads' daughter, Georgiana Armistead Appleton, inherited the flag upon her mother's death in 1861. Under their scrutiny, Key watched on September 13 as the barrage of Fort McHenry began eight miles away. 1. On a rainy September 13, 1814, British warships sent a downpour of shells and rockets onto Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, relentlessly pounding the American fort for 25 hours. Being held by the British on a truce ship in the Patapsco River, Key observed the battle from afar. No, Key was a lawyer in Washington, D.C. The British naval arc stretched across the Patapsco two miles below Fort McHenry, keeping distance from the forts powerful 36-pounder French naval shore batteries. Some historians believe that a smaller, 17 by 25-foot storm flag may have flown over Fort McHenry during the rainy evening of the bombardment. It was another chapter in the ongoing War of 1812. Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas; catalog "Political & Americana Auction, November 30, 2011; New England Historic Genealogical Society, Dictionary definition of "garrison flag" at www.merriam-webster.com, Naval Telecommunications Procedures: Flags, Pennants, and Customs, August 1986, section 304, p. 3-1 at www.ushistory.org, "The Star-Spangled Banner: Making the Flag", "The Star-Spangled Banner: Family Keepsake", "The Star-Spangled Banner: Congratulations", "The African American Girl Who Helped Make the Star-Spangled Banner", "A hundred years ago: The centennial of the Star-Spangled Banner", "Star-Spangled Banner becomes permanent part of USNM collection", "The 'Star-Spangled Banner' goes on view in grand style", Science News "Old Glory, New Glory: The Star-Spangled Banner gets some tender loving care", "Smithsonian Seeks $300,000 to Save Dorothy's Ruby Slippers", Washington POST "Reopening, in All Its Old Glory", "Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas: Brady Camera and Kennedy Rocker Take Top Bids in Americana Auction", Interactive image of original flag which includes a zoom to view detail, Research project to preserve the flag's fabric using LED technology, The original flag at the National Museum of American History, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star-Spangled_Banner_(flag)&oldid=1148360196, This page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 18:21. 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. The newest bomb ships of the Vesuvius class were three-masted vessels carrying a massive central weight of 325 tons, with a length of 102 feet, ideal for heavy weather and shore bombardment. 100 Years at the Smithsonian, After Georgiana's death, the flag passed to Eben Appleton, Armistead's grandson, who loaned it to the city of Baltimore for the 1880 sesquicentennial celebration. Historians are not sure how the Armistead family came into possession of the flag, but upon Armistead's death in 1818, his wife Louisa inherited it. And when the museum reopens in summer 2008, the Star-Spangled Banner will be its centerpiece, displayed in its own state-of-the-art gallery. A Brief History of Steamboat Racing in the U.S. Texas-Born Italian Noble Evicted From Her 16th-Century Villa. Armistead's report after the battle mentions four killed, 24 wounded, and "superficial" damage done to the public buildings. ", In this 1993 photo from Smithsonian Archives, the flag is shown inside the museum's center hall. For three hours, the bombardment proceeded through lashing rain, thunder and lightning. Date of Birth - Death April 10, 1780 - April 25, 1818. He said 'What's the matter with them?' At that time, it was the practice to add one star and stripe for each new state joining the Union. We go, however, to a ball game, we stand in our church services, and we sing the words of that song and they float over our minds and our lips and we don't even realize what we're singing. 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. which was built in 1798. Entrance Fees The entrance fee to the historic area of the park is $15.00 for adults 16 years of age and older; children 15 and younger are free. 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. The striking visual has pervaded our national imagination: The first rays of a new day reveal the symbol of a nation young but strong standing defiant in the face of our foes. The American colonies had prisoners and the British had prisoners and the American government initiated a move, they went to the British and they said 'Let us negotiate for the release of these prisoners.' CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. The ammunition used by these ships later inspire Francis Scott Keys famous lines and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air.. He said 'That's, that's a large fort.' 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. "Was," because this object at hand, the original Star-Spangled Banner, is no. In fact, military posts traditionally lower the American flag at night. Anthem for Americaon Flag Day 2014, curator Hat on or off? Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), The Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem, A View of the Bombardment of Fort McHenry. Cookie Policy 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. Remember, there were no colonies, only states, in 1814. We're launching interpretation of African American history at 7 key battlefields, located in 5 states, spanning 3 wars. [19][20] Some years, it was flown at Baltimore's celebration of Defenders Day, the anniversary of the battle. "The Star-Spangled Banner" song turns 200 this year. The bombardment, known as the Battle of Baltimore, came only weeks after the British had attacked Washington, D.C., burning the Capitol, the Treasury and the President's house. "The fact that it has been entrusted to the National Museum of American History is an honor.". Did dead bodies hold up the flag at Fort Mchenry? [19] It was flown at Fort McHenry in 1824 at a reception for the Marquis de Lafayette during his tour of America. [32] For the next 29 years, he allowed it to be displayed only once, in 1880, when it was paraded through the streets of Baltimore for the city's sesquicentennial celebration. 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. [6] It now measures 30 by 34 feet (9.1 by 10.4m). Tensions were high in the British command infrastructure. The larger of the two flags had stripes two feet wide, and stars 24 inches from point to point. 15-star flag above Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore, Md. When Louisa died in 1861, she passed the flag down to their daughter Georgiana Armistead Appleton over the legal objections of their son. In Baltimore's preparation for an expected attack on the city, Fort McHenry was made ready to defend the city's harbor. She received another $168.54 for sewing a smaller (17 by 25 feet) storm flag, likely using the same design. Spotted something? I GUARANTEE you, if you watch this video, you will never think of our National Anthem in the same way again. He said 'You'll be taken out of this boat, out of this filth, out of your chains.'. Interestingly enough several African Americans found themselves fighting under the very same flag of the country that sought to enslave them. "Georgiana was the only child born at the fort, and she was named for her father," says Thomassen-Krauss. They were holding the American prisoners in boats about a thousand yards offshore. Show your pride in battlefield preservation by shopping in our store. At Lead Stories, we are pro-fact. "But no real evidence has surfaced to support these stories, and the true fate of the star remains one of the Smithsonian's great unsolved mysteries." Several feet of fabric have been lost from the flag's fly end, from cuttings that were given away as souvenirs and gifts, as well as from deterioration from continued use. Museum collections stored in building having dormer windows. [29][30], Georgiana Appleton died in 1878 and left the flag to her son, Eben Appleton. Eben immediately wrote to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,Charles D. Walcott. And he said 'Men, I've got news for you tonight. Huge, vibrant, and rich in history, most Americans are familiar with the story of this particular flag: It's the one that flew overFort McHenrythe morning after the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words that would one day become our national anthem. Robert M. Poole is the magazine's contributing editor. The U.S. Navy's first ship, the Constellation, was launched in Baltimore in 1797, and its namesake, the last all-sail warship built (1854) for the navy, has been moored in the city's harbour since 1955; in the late 1990s the ship underwent extensive restoration. A replica 17'x25' storm flag flying over Fort McHenry . He (Key) said 'You can't shell that fort.' Subscribe to the American Battlefield Trust's quarterly email series of curated stories for the curious-minded sort! In January of 1862, Brig. Now, here are the most obvious ways this video is filled with fake history: Francis Scott Key was a lawyer in Baltimore. Again, this is an imaginary conversation. 21230, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. 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. In the twilight hours of Friday, September 16, the President was released and docked alongside Hughes Wharf at Fells Point. 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. [27] It was intended to be exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, but was not displayed because of fears it would be damaged. another account of the battle of Fort McHenry. He said 'It's full of women and children.' She once noted, "[H]ad we given all that we have been importuned for little would be left to show." On the morning of September 14, when the flag was seen flying above the ramparts, it was clear that Fort McHenry remained in American hands. How and when this occurred is unclear. Recognizing its need for repair, the Smithsonian hired Amelia Fowler, an embroidery teacher and well-known flag preserver, in 1914 to replace the canvas backing that had been added in 1873. You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN. See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends) and leave the link in the comments. The most-viewed version of the video is a post (archived here) published on July 4, 2014, under the title "Our National Anthem." Georgiana Armistead Appleton,George Armistead's daughter, inherited the flag upon her mother's death in 1861. South Carolina's confederate flag hasn't been flying since the Civil War. Original size: 30 feet by 42 feet. Most of us have memorized it as a child, but we've never really thought about what it means. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans once more felt their homeland might be under real physical threat. To the best of our knowledge, the British did not specifically target the flag. The First American President: Setting the Precedent, African Americans During the Revolutionary War, Help Save 820 Acres at Five Virginia Battlefields, Save 343 Acres at FIVE Battlefields in FOUR Western Theater States, Save 42 Historic Acres at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Phase Three of Gaines Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign, An Unparalleled Preservation Opportunity at Gettysburg Battlefield.
What To Soak, Dry Cracked Hands In,
What Happened To Dom From Project Runway?,
Dave Dalby Cause Of Death,
St Louis Annual Rainfall,
Anne Hawthorne Wilmington Nc,
Articles D