Star Spangled Banner Flag

The Star Spangled Banner Flag is 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. Although it is commonly thought to have been made by Betsy Ross, it was actually made by local flagmaker Mary Pickersgill.

Beginning at dawn on September 13, 1814, British warships began to bombard the fort continuously. The battle lasted for twenty-five hours under heavy rain. But when the British ships were unable to pass the fort and penetrate the harbor, the attack was ended. Seeing that the American flag was still flying over the fort the following morning, and seeing the British repulsed, Francis Scott Key was moved to write the poem Defence of Fort McHenry, which later was put to music under the title The Star-Spangled Banner and became the national anthem of the United States.

The flag that flew during that episode in history, with its fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, became a significant artifact. It is permanently housed today in the National Museum of American History, one of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The flag was given to the museum in 1912, restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and restored again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program.

See also

• Flags of the United States
• War of 1812

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