In 2011 it was taken by armored vehicle, with a police escort, to the state's capital in Annapolis and to Fort McHenry. Key's manuscript has traveled only slightly more often since being purchased for the historical society in the 1950s. Armistead was the commander of Fort McHenry and the man who commissioned the banner with 15 stripes and 15 stars, representing the number of states in the Union at the time.Įxcept for a period during World War II, when it was housed in Virginia for safekeeping, the flag hasn't traveled outside of Washington since coming to the Smithsonian.
The flag has been at Smithsonian for more than a century after being given to the institution by the family of Maj.
And, second, Key wrote, "Oh say can you see through the dawn's early light," but crossed out "through" and wrote "by."Īmericans may be more familiar with the flag, which gets millions of visitors a year at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. First, Key's poem is actually four stanzas, though the first stanza is the only one that's traditionally sung. Key's original manuscript, written with quill and ink, has two surprises for viewers who know the song. troops had withstood the enemy, he was inspired to write a poem originally called "Defense of Fort McHenry." The poem, set to music and later renamed, became the country's national anthem in 1931. When he saw the fort's flag flying on the morning after the bombardment, a signal that U.S. Key watched as the British bombarded Baltimore's Fort McHenry for more than 24 hours. Francis Scott Key was a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet when he wrote the song's words during the War of 1812.
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