As flames leapt out of the Capitol Building and the White House, the night sky glowed red as the American people fled Washington. The British were attacking American seaports and the mainland relentlessly, 稳步向巴尔的摩移动. 因胜利而壮胆, 英国海军上将科克伦通知詹姆斯·门罗, 美国国务卿, that the British Navy had set their eyes on the demolition of Fort McHenry, a pentagonal bastion fort protecting the Baltimore harbor.
A young lawyer named Francis Scott Key had been sent to negotiate the release of prisoners being held on 英国船只 in the Baltimore Harbor. 谈判成功后释放, Key was informed by Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane that the negotiations would be fruitless, as the British would launch an attack on Fort McHenry at dawn. Because Key had seen the British preparing to attack, Cochrane did not allow him to return to land.
On Tuesday, September 13, 1814, the earth-shattering sound of heavy guns broke the morning calm. 英国船只, 一望无际, filled the harbor and mercilessly released their deadly mortars. 到第二天早上, 英国人发射了超过1枚导弹,500年迫击炮, 有些重达250磅, 进入麦克亨利堡.
整晚，基都在守卫堡垒. As the bombs lit up the night, Key strained to see if the American Flag was still flying. 为什么? 为什么基如此热切地注视着国旗? British officers had informed American troops that the whole battle could be avoided if they simply would lower their flag. So, as long as the flag remained raised, the British would continue to attack. 英军对麦克亨利堡进行了长达25小时的轰炸. For 25 hours, American troops inside the fort made sure that the flag was still there. After 25 hours, the British realized they would not take the fort by sea, and ceased fire.
Realizing the British were discontinuing their fire, Key, several miles out, looked over the waters. What would he tell the American prisoners now aboard his ship? Would he see the flag with her bold stripes and bright stars? 他会看到投降的标志吗? 那面星条旗还在飘扬吗? 当黎明变成白昼, though its pole was askew and its stars and stripes marred, Key看到了, 事实上, 我们的美国国旗还在那里.
You can see the Great Garrison Flag that survived the attack on Fort McHenry at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
The young lawyer penned the first stanza of “The Defense of Fort McHenry” as the smoke began to clear. Shortly after he reached his hotel room, Francis Scott Key wrote the next three stanzas. 那天晚上晚些时候, 关键的妹夫, 约瑟夫·尼科尔森法官, 读了这首诗，立刻把它印了出来. Judge Nicholsen suggested that the poem be sung to “Anacreon in Heaven,” a tune widely sung in taverns throughout America at that time. 到9月20日 巴尔的摩爱国者 在报纸上刊登了这首歌. By 1815, the song was known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
这首歌很快成为人们的最爱. 事实上，P.T. Barnum sporadically held “national anthem contests” and no other song had stronger support than The Star-Spangled Banner. 到1889年，它已成为美国的非官方国歌. The United States Navy played the song at flag raisings and around 1903, 美国陆军采用了这首歌. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it to be the national anthem and on March 3, 1931, 国会将其官方化.
1931年，36美国.S. 代码301. 这部法律讨论了国歌的礼仪. Section (C) states: “all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, 还有不穿制服的人, 如果适用的话, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, 手放在心上". 然而，到1943年，美国的军事行动已经停止.S. 最高法院裁定这项法律违宪. 当然，今天已经没有了 法律 consequence for those who choose not to stand for our National Anthem.
To many Americans, the flag and our national anthem are not just meaningless symbols. Our national anthem and our flag often represent the things we hold dear: our country, 所有美国人都享有的自由, 以及为之而战的军队. Many Americans proudly stand with tears in their eyes and gratitude in their hearts when our national anthem is performed. 经常, veterans take part in the performing of our national anthem and the simultaneous display of our flag. Such displays are meant to inspire gratitude and patriotism!
唱国歌不仅仅是一种传统, it is a reminder that the freedom we all enjoy today wasn’t always so. It was fought for and won time and again—and remembers our soldiers from today back to that night when Mr. Key strained to see that our flag was still there and on to those who first earned the independence of America.
Dayspring Christian Academy uses primary sources to educate students as they seek the truth in America’s history. Fifth-grade Dayspring students visit Fort McHenry as a part of their study of the founding of our nation, including the War of 1812 and the origins of our national anthem. 我们的教育方法， 原则方法, is the kind of education that prevailed during America’s first two hundred years.
If you would like to learn more about Dayspring Christian Academy and the 原理方法, please call Karol Hasting at 717-285-2000 or register for a private tour using the button below.
封面图片来源:美国国家公园管理局.nps.gov)，公有领域.