13 Sep 1814: “Defence of Fort McHenry”

On this day in 1814, a 35-year-old lawyer named Francis Scott Key wrote “Defence of Fort McHenry” – the text that would become the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner”, the national anthem of the United States.

The poem was later set to the song “To Anacreon in Heaven” by John Stafford Smith, which was popular in the United States during the War of 1812. The full poem has four stanzas, although usually only the first is heard today.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” became the official national anthem in 1931. Before that, “Hail, Columbia” (now the anthem of the Vice President) and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” filled that role.

Image: Francis Scott Key, Library of Congress