September 14 Marks 200th Anniversary Of The Writing Of The National Anthem

By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Today is the 200th anniversary of the writing of our National Anthem.

Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from the DC-Baltimore area had gone aboard the British flagship near Baltimore Harbor to try to win the release of a friend held captive. The siege of Ft. McHenry being imminent, the British wouldn't let them go, says LaSalle history professor Brother Ed Sheehy. So stuck on a British sloop eight miles away, Key didn't have much to do all night but watch the light show and maybe write the poem.

"It was entitled "The Defence of Ft. McHenry" at first, so my assumption is he began to write as the bombardment took place and since it was 25 hours long he probably had plenty of time to pen it with all the commotion going on and maybe spruced it up a little bit later."

The words, paired with a tune from a British social club, were immediately popular, but Key was dead 73 years before President Wilson ordered the song be used by the military, and the anthem still wasn't national.

"In 1929, Ripley in his Believe It or Not said believe it or not there's no national anthem for the United States and, at that point, five million letters were written to Congress, asking that they come up with one and two years later, in 1931, Congress passed a resolution naming it the National Anthem."

Brother Sheehy says "The Star Spangled Banner" did have competition for that honor, but it was points off for rival America: My Country 'Tis of Thee because it has the same tune as Britain's "God Save the King/Queen."

He admits that while it's a tough song to sing and very martial he sees no real chance of it being replaced.

You may also be interested in these stories: