USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Myth #1: Francis Scott Key was held prisoner aboard a British ship during the bombardment of Baltimore. Correction: Key was aboard his own American truce ship during the battle. Key and fellow lawyer John S.

Detailed explanation-2: -Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” and its initial verse on the back side of a letter while watching the large American flag waving over the fort that morning. Back in Baltimore, he continued working until he had completed four verses (only one of which is commonly known today).

Detailed explanation-3: -Attorney Francis Scott Key witnessed the twenty-five hour bombardment of Fort McHenry from a British troopship anchored some four miles away. He had boarded the ship to negotiate the release of an American civilian imprisoned by the British, and had been detained aboard as the bombardment began.

Detailed explanation-4: -Career. Francis Scott Key was a prominent lawyer in Frederick, Maryland and Washington, D.C. He made his name in 1807 defending Justus Eric Bollman and Samuel Swartwout who had been charged with treason in connection to an alleged conspiracy designed by Aaron Burr.

Detailed explanation-5: -On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort M’Henry, ” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812.