Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became “The Star-Spangled Banner,” an American symbol remembered during America250.
Key wrote the poem in September 1814 after watching the American flag fly over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. The battle took place during the War of 1812, when British forces attacked the city and its harbor.
The original poem was titled “Defence of Fort M'Henry.” It was later set to the melody of a popular English drinking song, “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The combined song became widely known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Congress made the song the United States national anthem in 1931. The flag Key saw was enormous, measuring about 30 by 42 feet, and was made by Mary Young Pickersgill and her assistants. The anthem is therefore connected to both a military defense and a specific surviving flag.