Most in the United States know the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry" as the lyrics to the song "The Star-Spangled Banner". But this was definitely a poem first. Francis Scott Key happened to see Fort McHenry being attacked, and he wrote this poem about his experiences. This attack happened in 1814. It was only much later that Key's poem was turned into a song and then made into the US National Anthem.
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O say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' 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?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Key took some poetic license with his poem. As every boy scout and girl scout learns, the US flag is not supposed to be flown at night. It's always supposed to be taken down at dusk. Wikipedia wonders if maybe they flew a "storm flag" at night - but storm flags are for daytime use in (as you might guess) storms. They are simply more durable versions of the flag. So I'm not sure why a flag would properly be flown at night simply because some fighting was going on, which was fairly typical in the War of 1812. The only way a flag is supposed to remain up at night is for special occasions, and they are supposed to be properly illuminated for respect reasons. I'm not sure attack rockets count as proper illumination :).
In any case, chime in and let us know what you think of it!
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