Which flag flew over Fort McHenry during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore and inspired the U.S. national anthem?

The Star-Spangled Banner flew over Fort McHenry during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore and inspired the United States national anthem.

The enormous garrison flag was made for Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812. Its fifteen stars and fifteen stripes reflected the flag design authorized after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union. The flag was much larger than the familiar modern version.

Francis Scott Key saw the flag flying after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on September 14, 1814. The sight inspired him to write the poem “Defence of Fort M'Henry,” whose words were later set to the melody of “To Anacreon in Heaven.”

The poem became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Congress made the song the national anthem on March 3, 1931. The historic flag is preserved and displayed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.