The story behind the creation of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is something most people, especially Marylanders, are familiar with.

A lawyer, Francis Scott Key penned the poem while watching the battle of Fort McHenry between the British and Americans during the War of 1812.

But beyond some of the basic information in the legend, few people probably have a good idea of who Francis Scott Key was, the history of Fort McHenry and the background of what is now the national anthem.

Here are a few little-known nuggets of information about the song, its writer and the fort where the battle was held:


Key grew up near Frederick, Md., and was born in 1779 at a place called Terra Rubra, translated to "Red Earth." He attended St. John's College in Annapolis and began practicing law with his uncle before eventually setting up his own practice in the Georgetown area of Washington.

In addition to his legal practice, Key was an avid writer of poems.

"It wasn't the first poem he wrote. It was a favorite thing for him to do," says Paul Plamann, a park ranger at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore. "He'd write poems for family and friends. This is the only one he wrote that became a hit."

After Key died in 1843 at the age of 63, he was initially buried in Baltimore, but was later relocated to Frederick to be buried with his parents.

Key had a number of places, including schools, bridges, monuments and even a submarine, named after him. The minor-league Frederick Keys are also named in his honor.


Plamann says "The Star-Spangled Banner" wasn't the actual name of Key's poem — it was actually "Defence of Fort M'Henry."

It is also a common belief that the accompaniment of the song came from an old British drinking song.

Plamann clears up the always interesting background: "The irony is that what Mr. Key has in mind an English song to the key of it and the anthem is born out of a battle taking place with the enemy being English. It was set to the tune of 'To Anacreon in Heaven,' what you might call a club song. There was a society over in England and they needed a club song, which was the Anacreonic song. This is where it was associated with as a drinking song, because when they meet, they would enjoy having a drink or two. The melody was a very popular tune used with several songs in the 17th and 18th century."

Plamann adds while the song references the 1814 Battle of Baltimore, many believed it was related to another period.

"Some people think it's a Civil War-related song, but they don't put as the time period of the War of 1812," he says. "This sort of misconception is that we hope after visiting the fort they have a better knowledge of the history of it."

Key originally wrote the poem in four verses. The first, which is the most well-known, is phrased as a question, with the second verse a response to the first and the fourth verse referring to the victory. The third verse is even less recited because of the anti-British sentiment, which would become obsolete once Congress made the song the official national anthem in 1931.


The history of Fort McHenry as a military base began before it was constructed, when it was preceded by Fort Whetstone, a stronghold that was planned to be used for the Revolutionary War to prevent a British attack on Baltimore but never saw action, Plamann says.

Construction on today's fort began in 1798 and was completed in 1803. It was named after James McHenry, a friend of George Washington's and a former secretary of war.

McHenry was able to see the fort that bore his name in action before he died in 1816.

Following the War of 1812, the fort was utilized as a military prison during the Civil War for military prisoners and Confederate sympathizers when President Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. One of the Confederate sympathizers imprisoned there was Francis Key Howard, the grandson of Key.

During World War I, the fort served as an army hospital, with 3,000 beds and a staff of 100 doctors and nurses. During World War II, the Coast Guard used the fort as a training facility and base.

Although a museum and historic shrine, the base is still authorized to be used for military purposes in the case of a national emergency, according to the United States Code.

Plamann, who's been a ranger at Fort McHenry for 47 years, is used to hearing all kinds of questions related to the fort. But he's also heard the ribbing about how long he's worked there.

"Some people like to joke and say I've been here so long that I helped build the fort," he says. "Others say I gave Mr. Key the pen to write the song."

eholland@dmg.gannett.com 410-845-4633 On Twitter @TheEarlHolland

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