The Star-Spangled Banner
Videos
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, a
Francis Scott Key's original manuscript copy of his "Defence of Fort M'Henry" poem, now on display at the Maryland Historical Society
An artist's rendering of the battle at Fort McHenry
The 15-star, 15-stripe "Star-Spangled Banner" that inspired the poem
A memorial to John Stafford Smith in Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester, England
The Anacreontic Song
Videos
"The Anacreontic Song", also known by its incipit "To Anacreon in Heaven", was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Composed b
The Star-Spangled Banner
…was set to the music of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a gentlemen's club in London. Smith's song, "The Anacreontic Song", with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. This setting, renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", soon became a popular patriotic song…
First page of the A. Blands edition (c. 1784–1790)
A bust of Anacreon.