"AND THE ROCKETS' RED GLARE, THE BOMBS BURSTING IN AIR, GAVE PROOF THROUGH THE NIGHT THAT OUR FLAG WAS STILL THERE."—-"Star Spangled Banner" By Francis Scott Key In September 1814, an American lawyer named Francis Scott Key was sent to secure the release of his friend from the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay. Key was detained by the British during their bombing of Fort McHenry, one of the forts protecting Baltimore. After suffering continuous bombardment on the night of September 13 and the early morning hours of September 14, the fort did not fall into British hands. Francis Scott Key was so moved when he looked out to see that the American flag was still standing over the fort that he wrote the words to the "Star Spangled Banner." Key actually set the lyrics to the tune of an English drinking song, "To Anacreon in Heaven." Key's song became very popular throughout the country, and Congress officially adopted it as the national anthem in 1931.

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Show me all markers in:  Gonzales, LA  |  Ascension Parish  |  70737  |  Louisiana  |  United States of America

The Battle of New Orleans, 1815
The War of 1812
The Mexican-American War
Mexico Will Poison Us
The Mexican-American War
Ascension Parish Residents Fighting the War on Terror
The War on Terror: The Afghanistan War
Civil War
Civil War
The War on Terror: The Afghanistan War And The Iraq War

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