What song was inspired by the defense of Fort McHenry?

The Star-Spangled Banner was the song inspired by the defense of Fort McHenry. On September 14, 1814, lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key watched the British bombardment of the fort from a truce ship in Baltimore Harbor. At dawn, he saw a large American flag still flying above the fort and began writing the poem “Defence of Fort M'Henry.”

The poem was printed soon afterward and set to the melody of “The Anacreontic Song,” a popular British tune composed by John Stafford Smith. It gradually became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Although the song became a patriotic favorite during the nineteenth century, it was not officially adopted as the US national anthem until March 3, 1931.

Fort McHenry’s defense formed part of the Battle of Baltimore, fought from September 12 to 14, 1814, during the War of 1812. A common mix-up is to assume Key composed both words and music: he wrote the poem and lyrics, while Stafford Smith supplied the melody.