Key, Francis Scott

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

Francis Scott (1779-1843), the author of "The Star Spangled Banner." He was born in Frederick County, Maryland, and died at Baltimore. He was educated at St. John's College, Annapolis. During the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 he was detained on board the British fleet. His anxiety for the fate of the fort led to his writing the flag song which has made him famous. He watched the bombardment all through the evening, and listened to the sound of cannon all night. When daylight came the stars and stripes were still visible above the old fort. It is little wonder that he burst forth into Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming; And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? It is of interest to know that the "broad stripes and bright stars" were fifteen in number. At this date the national flag had fifteen stripes, thirteen for the original states and one each for Vermont and Kentucky. The flag was forty feet long and thirty feet wide. The stripes were two feet wide and the stars were two feet from point to point. See Flag