Francis Scott Key

Francis Scott Key
by Actor Charles Wissinger

Francis Scott Key was a lawyer before the start of the War of 1812. By 1814, England defeated France and turned its full attention to fighting the United States. In August 1814 the British managed to capture the city and burn down the Capitol building and the White House. During the attack, Key's friend Dr. William Beanes, a Maryland physician and important patriot strategist, was captured and imprisoned aboard the British warship HMS Tonnant. Key embarked on the mission to meet the British fleet at the mouth of the Potomac River for a prisoner exchange. The Admiral in charge refused to release Beanes until after the assault on Fort McHenry. Sixteen British warships commenced bombing on September 13 and continued for the next 24 hours. Early the next morning, when the battle had ceased, Key looked out over Ft. McHenry, where he saw the American flag still flying. Key was so inspired, that he composed a poem to honor the fallen. Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner, Key and Beanes were allowed to return to Baltimore later that morning, where Key's poem was soon published entitled "The Defense of Fort McHenry." The verse quickly gained popularity as it was reprinted in newspapers across the country and set to the tune of a popular song, "To Anacreon in Heaven" composed by John Stafford Smith in the mid-1760's. The combination of Key's words and Smith's music would become known as the The Star-Spangled Banner.

"Then, in that hour of deliverance, my heart spoke. Does not such a country, and such defenders of their country, deserve a song?"
Francis Scott Key

Learn Why ...

Key was the only lawyer who would defend Aaron Burr.

Key could be inspired to put his career aside to join the militia.

The poem "The Defense of Fort McHenry" became The Star-Spangled Banner.