Star-Spangled Banner (flag)
The Star-Spangled Banner, or the Great Garrison Flag, was the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. It is on exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Seeing the flag flying over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, after the battle ended, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry". These words were written by Key and set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven", a popular song at the time, by John Stafford Smith. In 1931 the song became the national anthem of the United States.
Star Spangled Banner flag on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, c. 1964
Mary Pickersgill and her nieces sewing the flag at Brown's Brewery. Artist's rendition by Robert McGill Mackall, 1962.
The flag photographed in 1873 in the Boston Navy Yard by George Henry Preble
President George W. Bush (center) observes the flag upon its unveiling at the reopening of the National Museum of American History in 2008
Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy from Chesapeake Bay on September 13–14, 1814.
Fort McHenry
Bombardment of Fort McHenry
Flag that flew over Fort McHenry during its bombardment in 1814, which was witnessed by Francis Scott Key. The family of Major George Armistead, the commander of the fort, donated the flag to the Smithsonian Institution in 1912.
A replica of the 15-star/15-stripe U.S. flag that currently flies over Fort McHenry