We were in Baltimore, Maryland, today and had the opportunity to spend a few hours at a special place...even more special because today is Veterans Day...Fort McHenry.
All of our historic forts are significant, but this one has a special claim that no other can rival. Fort McHenry is the very fort that inspired the writing of our National Anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".
During the War of 1812, as the British were bombing Baltimore from their ships in the harbor, a lawyer and poet by the name of Francis Scott Key watched through the long night to see which flag would be flying from the fort come morning.
He strained to catch a glimpse of the flag as the first light dawned...and, as you know, the flag he saw was the American flag. Battered and torn, but flying high and proud... declaring for all to see that the United States had won the battle.
That long night of battle, and the relief he felt upon morning, moved him to write a poem. This poem would later be set to music and ultimately adopted as our National Anthem.
Wow... very awesome.
In honor of Veterans Day today, the fort was flying a replica of the same flag (a huge 30'x42') that inspired the writing of our National Anthem.
No comments:
Post a Comment