Francis Scott Key was a prominent lawyer who wrote the national anthem based on his experiences during The War of 1812. This memorial contains a bust of Francis Scott Key, a pergola, U.S. Flag, and three signs about Key's life, the Star-Spangled banner and the memorial park itself.
Sign Text:
Francis Scott Key *1779 - 1843*
The author of our National ANthem was a lawyer, patriot, community leader and amatuer poet. His home and law office stood approximately 100 yards west of here. Francis Scot Key lived there from 1803 to about 1833 with his wife, the former Mary Tayloe Lloyd of Annapolis, Maryland, and their six sons and five daughters. The house was demolished in 1947 after years of neglect by various owners.
During the War of 1812, British troops had invaded and captured Washington in August of 1814. They set fire to the Capitol, the White House and most Federal buildings. As they withdrew to their ships they took Dr. William Beanes prisoner because he had arrested some stragglers among the British troops for looting.
The popular and respected 35-year-old George Town lawyer Francis Scott Key came to the aid of friends skeeing Dr. Beanes' release' Under a flag of truce approved by President James Madison Key set sail with John Stuart Skinner and American Agent for prisoner exchange. They located the British fleet and boarded Admiral Cochrane's Royal Navy Flagship. Key successully argued for Dr. Beanes' release.
However lest they reveal the British plans to atack Fort McHenry and Baltimore, they were detained under guard aboard their ship. Througout the night of Spetember 13-14, 1814 Key stood on deck watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry. At dawn Key's anxiety was relieved. Our flag was still there! Key began to compose a poem on the back of a letter.
After the release after the British defeat, Key continued work on his poem. On the next day, he showed it to Chief justice Joseph Hopper Nicholson, a Fort McHenry defender. Nicholson was so moved he immediately had a broadside of the poem printed and circulated. That poem became The Star-Spangled Banner.
Francis Scott Key's law practice continued to flourish. He wass three times appinted to the post of U.S. Attourney for the District of Columbia. He was active in anti-slavery causes, advocated the establishment of public schools, negotiated a treatyy in 1833 between the Creek Indians and settlers in Alabama, and was vestryman of St. John's Church as well as a founder of Christ Church in George Town. On a trip to Baltimore in 1843, Francis Scott Key died of pneumonia on January 11 at the home of his eldest daughter, Mrs. Charles Howard. He is buried at Mt. Oliver Cemetery near his birthplace in Frederick, Maryland.
The Star Spangled Banner
*The Flag*
The immortal words "star-spangled banner" refer to the magnificent flag which Francis Scott Key saw "by the dawn's early light" after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on September 14, 1814. It is the largest flag ever flown in battle in U.S. history.
During preparartion to defend Baltimore, a vital seaport and center of commerce during the War of 1812, the commander of Fort McHenry, Major George Armistead wanted a flag so big ""that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance." Armistead wanted a "suitable ensign," a clear signal of American resolve.
Mary Young Pickersgill, a "maker of colours," was commisioned to make the new flag. With her 13-year-old daughter Caroline, the work began. Because of its great size, 30 by 42 feet, they stitched the pieces together on the malt-house floor of a local brewery. Each stripe, eight red and seven white, was two feet wide. Every star, fifteen in all, spanned two feet from point to point. The completed flag weighed eighty pounds!
The Star-Spangled Banner immortalized by Francis Scott Key, is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
*The Anthem*
Originally entitled The Defence of Ft. McHenry, Francis Scott Key's poem effectively dramatized the bombardment, the flag, and the sentiment of the times. Keys stirring verses were soon set to a popular tune of the day. The song To Anacreon in Heaven*, has been attributed to John Stafford Smith was sung by the members of the Anacreonic Society, an English music and social club. However, the melody had become familiar to many Americans who knew it as the patriotic song, Adams and Liberty by Robert Treat Paine. When Key's lyrics were set to this music, it became known as The Star-Spangled Banner.
In George Town, nine years before the BRitish bombardment of Frot McHenry, Francis Scott Key composed a poem to commemorate the victory of Commodore Stephen Decatur and his brave men over the Tripolitan pirates during the Barbary Wars. The poem contains the words, "star-spangled flag," has the same metric composition, has the same length verses, and was set to the same tune: To Anacreon in Heaven. Moreover, the stanzas have the same repetitive last lines in borth songs. So it was at his George Town home that the idea of The Star-Spangled Banner was born.
The American people quickly adopted The Star-Spangled Banner as the song to be sung on patriotic occasions. The greatest boost came during the Civil War when it was sung by Union troops. Later, the Army requested it be played each day at flag lowering. The Navy ordered it played at morning and evening colors. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson declared it the Armed Forces' official anthem.
On March 3rd, 1931 President Herbert Hoover signed the law making The Star-Spangled Banner the official National Anthem. As the anthem of the United States of America, these words and the melody are renowned throughout the world.
Francis Scott Key Park
Before 1620 the area of the Francis Scott Key Park was inhabited by members of Algonquian, Nacostine, Nacotchtank, Piscatoway and Patawomeke tribes. In 1634 it became part of the English Colony of Maryland.
Beginning in the 18th century, Falls or M street (1) was the trail to the Potomac river falls, and Frederick or 34th Street (2) was the access to the west landing of the port of George Town and Hite's Ferry (3) to Virginia. George Washington passed along 34th street on the way to his first Presidential inauguration in 1789 and again in 1793 to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.
In 1784 this land was added to George Town, an early trading center and major tobacco port. In 1791, the land was included in the 10-mile square deisgnated as the "Nation's Capital," During the late 18th century, this "Court End" of George Town saw the construction of "Gentleman's Houses," some of which are standing today.
These included Francis Scott Key's house (4) built in 1803 and dismantled in 1947; John Mason's house (5) built c. 1794 and his model farm on Analostan (Roosevelt) Island (6); the Forrest Marbury House (7) built c. 1788; Halcyon House (8) built c. 1786; Prospect House (9) built c. 1790; Quality Hill (10) built c. 1799; and Foxall House (11) built c. 1802. Georgetown University (12) was established 1789.
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (13) was begun in 1828 is a major trade route to and from the West. The now destoryed Aqueduct Bridge (14) carried the Canal to Alexandria, Virginia. The Canal's 1924 demise was the result of river flooding and competition from the railroads.
The Park site became more commercial at the end of the 19th century, and homes were replaced by small shops and businesses. Around 1923, all of the buildings were demolished when Key Bridge (15) was built. Archeological investigations in 1989 and 1992 examined some of the foundations of these buildings and analyzed artifacts from early history.
The Francis Scott Key Foundation created and built The Star-Spangled Banner Monument with private funds and donated it as a gift to the United States from the American people on September 14, 1993.