Editor’s Note (Sept. 25, 2025): The following article was first published during the War of 1812 Bicentennial in 2014 following a visit to the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore, Maryland, one unit within the National Park Service (NPS) system of ore than 400 locations. This article has been edited for updates.
March 6, 2014 – Mary Pickersgill stitched the flags that flew over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, a battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem. That poem helped America stitch together an identity as a country during the War of 1812. Maryland’s War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission and Star Spangled 200, Inc. recently unveiled two new web-based resources to bring the world to Maryland as the nation celebrates the poem, written at “dawn’s early light” on Sept. 14, 1814, that became America’s National Anthem.
Historians are still debating the War of 1812 from its causes to its resolution with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium on December 24, 1814. What is not debated is that Francis Scott Key wrote a poem during that war that rallied the nation and helped shape America’s identity for the 19th century and beyond.
The Star-Spangled Banner Bicentennial
To honor the Bicentennial of The Star-Spangled Banner, KeyCam and the War of 1812 Interactive Battlefield Maps are two new web-based resources to promote, educate, and inform a wide audience about Francis Scott Key, significant War of 1812 battles in the Chesapeake region, and the upcoming 200th anniversary of the writing of The Star-Spangled Banner, according to Star-Spangled 200.
“KeyCam and the War of 1812 Battlefield Maps are two meaningful projects that are exciting for a number of reasons,” Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley said in a press release. “These new, free online tools will bring the history of Maryland and our nation to life for visitors in a modern, interactive, and easy-to-access tool that will make celebrating the Star-Spangled 200 all the more special.”
War of 1812 Background
As the 18th century gave way to the 19th century, the United States of America was in its infancy as an experiment in democracy within a constitutional republic. George Washington, the nation’s commander during the Revolutionary War and its first president from 1789-1797, had died in 1799 just days before the turn of the century.
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the nation’s third president from 1801-1809, purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. The land purchased from France included all land in present day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska as well as portions of land in nine other states. The Louisiana Purchase also included land in two present day Canadian provinces.
After the purchase, Jefferson asked Congress to authorize the Corps of Discovery Expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. It is now famously known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition, a three-year adventure that lasted from 1803 to 1806. One of its goals was to find an all water route for trade to the Pacific Ocean.
Even in the early 19th century, international affairs had great impact on America. Beginning in 1803, Great Britain was embroiled in war with Napoleon Bonaparte of France as Napoleon sought to dominate Europe. As the series of Napoleonic Wars dragged on, England’s Royal Navy became the most powerful naval force in the world.
There was high drama on the high seas as England’s Royal Navy began stopping American ships and “impressing” its sailors to work on British ships. Along with several other reasons involving issues of trade and territory, on June 18, 1812 President James Madison signed a declaration of war on Great Britain, the first time America had declared war on another country.
Over in Europe in 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia but was repulsed. Napoleon’s plan to dominate Europe began to unravel.
Great Britain was annoyed when America declared war as it had all it could handle fighting Napoleon in Europe. But British forces were sent to America to fight America in the War of 1812. British forces fought against America in alliance with troops from Canada and at times, Native American tribes.
Historians and military experts agree that America lost almost every battle in the War of 1812. But there were two exceptions – the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813 and the Battle of Baltimore fought from September 13 to 14 in 1814.
National Park Service Ranger Tim, leader of the Fife and Drum Corps at Fort McHenry, checks uniforms in October 2013 for the upcoming Bicentennial. (Photo: SNN)
In August 1814, British forces were able to penetrate American defenses around Washington D.C. and with war winding down in Europe, seasoned British troops were sent to America. British troops set fire to the White House, the U.S. Capitol and other government buildings. Only a severe thunderstorm saved the buildings from being destroyed beyond repair.
Baltimore and Fort McHenry
The next target for the British was Baltimore because it was an important shipping port. American military officers knew the British were coming to Baltimore. Fort McHenry guarded the port so British troops would have to capture Fort McHenry to capture Baltimore.
Aerial view of Fort McHenry – the fort built to defend the city of Baltimore (Photo: National Park Service, NPS)
The Battle of Baltimore began on September 13, 1814. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer, was on a truce ship after negotiating the release of an American prisoner from the British. With the battle imminent, British forces kept Key on the ship in Baltimore harbor.
British ships bombarded Fort McHenry throughout the night of September 13 and into September 14. As dawn broke on September 14, Key peered through a scope to see which flag was flying over Fort McHenry. It was the stars and stripes! Key was moved to begin writing a poem, a poem he called Defence of Fort M’Henry. He finished the four-stanza poem after he returned to Baltimore.
With the victory in Baltimore, Key’s poem was printed in newspapers and became wildly popular as a song. It was sung to the tune of a British song, To Anacreon in Heaven but was renamed The Star-Spangled Banner.
In 1931, over 100 years after the Battle of Baltimore, The Star-Spangled Banner became the official National Anthem of the Untied States of America. Click on the link below to listen to Whitney Houston singing The Star Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl, a rendition often noted as one of the best ever performed by any singer.
The Star Spangled Banner – sung by Whitney Houston
Editor’s Note: Mary Pickersgill was commissioned to sew two flags for Fort McHenry by Major George Armistead in the summer of 1813 – one storm flag and one larger garrison flag that measured 30 feet by 42 feet. That flag is on display at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. To this day, Fort McHenry raises different flags depending on weather and other conditions. Exactly which flag Francis Scott Key saw from the ship is still uncertain but the large garrison flag did fly over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore.