Five things you might not know about the Star Spangled Banner
- Laura Bruckmann
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
If you have ever been to a sporting event, military event or even many school or civic events, you have heard the National Anthem played before the opening of the program. The official name of the anthem is The Star Spangled Banner. While many of us know the words by heart, most people are not aware of the events that inspired the song and what historic relics still exist from that period.
Flag from the War of 1812
The first misconception is that the lyrics were written during the American Revolution. In reality the original poem was written during the so-called “War of 1812” which was still going on in 1814 when Francis Scott Key witnessed the Battle of Fort McHenry and recorded his impressions in the form of a poem.
The War of 1812 is sometimes called the second American Revolution as it was once again a war between the Americans and British. This time the stated conflict was over the impressment of American sailors by the British military, but there were many other conflicts afoot. The parties were still arguing over boundary lines, particularly with the Canadian provinces and the British seemed to believe that after almost three decades of the American experiment, its former subjects would be eager to crawl back to the Crown.
In the end, it was a conflict with no victor and everyone pretty much went home with what they started with. But in the meantime, the Americans had gone to Canada and burned the city of York, now Toronto, the British had entered Washington DC and burned it and Francis Scott Key witnessed a battle in the Baltimore Harbor that gave his country its inspirational national anthem. So what exactly did Key actually see?
According to the amazing folks at the American Battlefield Trust, the battle begins with a conflict between British landing forces and American troops on the road to Baltimore on Sept 12. Meanwhile, Francis Scott Key is focused on his assignment to free Washingtonians held by the British on a ship near Baltimore Harbor. When fighting breaks out early in the morning on September 13, Key is held on a British ship for his own safety and to ensure that he can’t share any intelligence he may have picked up while aboard.
Throughout that day and the long night, the British shell Fort McHenry however, it is well fortified and they inflict very little damage. Fighting is hampered by the driving rain and the preparations around this essential fort which had been in the works for more than a year. From his vantage point, Key sees a strong British navy bombarding the American fort and an US victory must have seemed impossible.
On the morning of September 14, Major George Armistead orders Fort McHenry’s storm flag removed and its expansive garrison flag flown. It is normal for the fort to raise this flag at reveille each day, but on this particular day it was an important symbol of an unlikely victory. When Francis Scott Key saw the enormous flag hanging over the American fort, he was stunned that the Americans had held their position. His emotional response is encapsulated in his poem “The Defense of Ft McHenry.”
Not made by Betsy Ross
The flags at Fort McHenry were an important part of the battle’s story. The storm flag which had been raised through the night was a smaller flag, less likely to be caught in the lashing winds associated with inclement weather. The garrison flag, on the other hand, is the largest size of the US flag and is typically only flown for special occasions such as national holidays.
The garrison flag at Ft. McHenry was in more regular use. This flag was made by a Baltimore woman named Mary Pickersgill, not Philadelphian Betsy Ross who made flags for the American Revolution. In preparation for an anticipated British attack on Ft. McHenry, Major George Armistead ordered both the storm flag and the garrison flag a year before the fateful battle.
Mary Pickersgill was given the order as she routinely sewed sails and signal flags for military and merchant ships harboring in Baltimore. She completed the order with the help of her teenage daughter, two teenage nieces and an indentured African-American girl living in her household. It took seven weeks for the team to complete the two flags and they eventually needed to make use of a nearby local brewery to have enough space to finish the garrison flag.
The US government paid a little over $400 for the garrison flag and more than $150 for the storm flag. While the actual values are debatable, the garrison flag cost the equivalent of around $8,000 today. For Mary Pickersgill, these were major commissions.
Ownership of the flag
The ownership of the flag is an unusual subject. It appears that the flag was made at the behest of Major George Armistead at a size “so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.” This was not the first flag he had commissioned in his career and clearly felt that these symbols were important for the proper administration of a fort. After surviving the onslaught at Ft McHenry, Armistead was promoted to Lt. Colonel and remained in command until his death in 1818.
Somewhere in the intervening four years, Armistead took possession of the flag. Some articles indicate that it was a gift with his promotion in relation to his stellar service. Others write of it as a personal memento kept by a career officer. He may have just kept it as a souvenir of a major battle despite the fact it was government property with no idea of its long term value. Plus, the government in this period was notably uninterested in ensuring that each fort had a flag or flags for all occasions.
After Armistead’s death his widow kept the flag and later passed it on to her daughter. The family granted permission for the flag to be displayed several times and allowed souvenirs to be cut from it. Finally Armistead’s grandson, Eben Appleton, inherited what was now a priceless artifact of American history. He eventually protected it by storing in a safe-deposit box in New York City where he worked as a stockbroker.
Donation to the Smithsonian
Due to the flag’s condition, the desire for it to be seen by the public and the expense of storing it, Appleton placed the flag on loan at the Smithsonian in 1907. It was hung on the exterior of the castle to examine its condition and after repairs it was displayed in the Smithsonian Castle. Ultimately, Appleton converted the loan to a gift in 1912 with the caveat that he wished for the flag to be kept on public view.
1990s preservation
From 1912 until 1964 the flag was kept on display in the National Museum, now known as the Art and Industries building. Beginning in 1964, the flag was given a new home at the Museum of History and Technology which is now known as the Museum of American History. Its dramatic new location in the central flag hall became an iconic memory for millions of visitors who saw it there until 1998 when it was removed for its most recent and scientifically advanced preservation.
The flag was then installed in a technologically advanced lab with a purpose built gantry hovering just above the surface of the flag. For 10 years, the flag’s condition was assessed, cleaning and conservation were carefully planned and executed. Finally in 2008, the new exhibit which we see today was opened to the public. Instead of hanging on the well-lit wall in the large atrium on the National Mall side of the museum, the flag is tucked behind its former home in a custom made two story tall case laying on a table to preserve its fragile wool threads. The case provides all manner of environmental protections and maintains low lighting to ensure the colors of the original fibers.
Seeing the Star Spangled Banner
To see the flag for the first time, or the first time since the preservation, join one of our tours that includes the Museum of American history. Our most comprehensive tour is the three-hour Smithsonian Highlights tour which covers not only the Museum of American History, but also the popular Museum of Natural History and the newly renovated Air & Space Museum.
To just focus on the story of the United States, choose our American Unscripted tour which begins in the National Archives with America’s founding documents and continues to the Museum of American History to see countless objects that preserve more than 200 years of American innovation, achievement, and history.
Finally, to a deeper dive into just the Museum of American History, book our 2 hour museum tour. Your guide will be able to show even more exhibits and objects than on either of our other 2 tours in this museum. For the true student of American History or the real museum lover, this tour is perfect for you.
Regardless of which tour option you choose, your guide will be able to add even more details to this story of the Star Spangled Banner and their storytelling will make this one of the most memorable parts of your trip to Washington DC. We look forward to seeing you soon!
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