midnight
A Mr. Francis S. Key , a resident of Georgetown , had gone down from Baltimore with a flag of truce to procure the release of a friend held as prisoner of war , when the bombardment of Fort McHenry began . All day long he watched the flag as it floated above the ramparts . Night came on and it was still there . And at midnight he could see it only by `` the rockets ' red glare , '' while he and his friends tremulously inquired if the `` flag still waved o'er the Land of the Free . '' Oh , what joy must have been his when it `` caught the gleam of the morning 's first beam . '' He had put the night watch and the dawn in a song that is still an inspiration . And now convinced , the enemy withdrew .