did bodies hold up the flag at fort mchenry

It is likely that they kept the flag hidden in their home in Baltimore for the duration of the war, but Margaret Appleton Baker, Georgiana's daughter, told theNew York Heraldin 1895 that the flag had actually been sent to England. This included scientific studies with infrared spectrometry, electron microscopy, mechanical testing, and determination of amino acid content by a New Zealand scientist, and infrared imaging by a NASA scientist. Key only negotiated for the release of Dr. Beanes, using letters from British soldiers affirming that the Maryland physician had treated wounded British soldiers after a battle. Key took quarters for the night at the Indian Queen Hotel, bringing with him the rough draft of a poem he had composed during his ordeal. The Star-Spangled Banner, or the Great Garrison Flag, was 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. "We, sir, are ready at Fort McHenry to defend Baltimore against invading by the enemyexcept that we have no suitable ensign to display over the Star Fort, and it is my desire to have a flag so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.". The prayer 'God, keep that flag flying where we last saw it.'. The American Battlefield Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. [32] For the next 29 years, he allowed it to be displayed only once, in 1880, when it was paraded through the streets of Baltimore for the city's sesquicentennial celebration. It is on exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. The 1,000 Americans at Fort McHenry are commanded by Maj.George Armistead. [23], In 1873, Appleton lent the flag to George Henry Preble, a naval officer who had written a popular history of the American flag. (Image:93-13286-2 and SIA2008-2449.). "The fact that it has been entrusted to the National Museum of American History is an honor.". Visitors are allowed a clear view of the flag, while it remains protected in a controlled environment. It was simply raised according to the 1808 U.S. The Baltimore Patriot newspaper soon printed it, and within weeks, Key's poem, now called "The Star-Spangled Banner," appeared in print across the country, immortalizing his wordsand forever naming the flag it celebrated. As internationally intriguing as her story is, there is no evidence to support Margaret's recollections and historians agree the flag probably remained in Baltimore. Despite a stalwart initial defense, the Americans begin to give way to the British regulars. At that time, it was the practice to add one star and stripe for each new state joining the Union. Every purchase supports the mission. In spite of their different motivations for serving, all of the men had one thing in common the protection of Baltimore from destruction. The United States declared war on Britain in June 1812 to protect free trade and sailors rights. Heading into a conflict against a country with such superior naval power was a daunting prospect for the young nation. In 1834, Key spoke at a public gathering in Frederick, Maryland where he was born and now rests in peace offering his only personal remarks about those three days in September 1814. He traveled to Baltimore only to seek freedom for a friend, Dr. William Beanes, a civilian taken prisoner after he argued with British troops who had tried to plunder his Upper Marlboro, Maryland, home, according to Smithsonian magazine. Using a storm flag in those conditions would have been standard practice. In 1814, the United States flag had 15 stars and 15 stripes. From Baltimore's Federal Hill the fleet of more than 40 British vessels was visible at anchor off North Point. The U.S. Navy's first ship, the Constellation, was launched in Baltimore in 1797, and its namesake, the last all-sail warship built (1854) for the navy, has been moored in the city's harbour since 1955; in the late 1990s the ship underwent extensive restoration. Francis Scott Key said what held that flag at that unusual angle were patriots' bodies. You can also view this Smithsonian Channel video on YouTube. Although she lived in Maryland, a Union state, her sympathies lay with the Confederate cause. Baltimore privateers were responsible for as much as one-third of all captured British vessels during the war. After the death ofCol. George Armistead, who was commander of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, the flag passed to his daughter Georgiana Armistead Appleton. [19], Louisa occasionally allowed the flag to be used for civic occasions. Rewriting history is a dangerous thing, although the consequences of digesting this particular mythology may not lead to destruction. Encouraged by their victory at Bladensburgon August 24, 1814, and the subsequent burning of Washington, D.C., the British turned north, intent on capturing the major port city of Baltimore, Maryland. [22] It was displayed outside Armistead's son's home for the 1844 Whig National Convention. Armistead's report after the battle mentions four killed, 24 wounded, and "superficial" damage done to the public buildings. The fort suffered only light damage from the 1,500 cannonballs, rockets and shells fired upon it. In addition to the gigantic 42 x 30 foot garrison flag (now the Star-Spangled Banner), Pickersgill and the young women who helped her also sewed a smaller "storm flag." First, there were no "colonies" in 1814. Spotted something? The bombardment began at sunrise, not sunset, and continued for 27 hours. When markings on the flag were investigated and analyzed, they were found to be from iron corrosion. [47] Planning and executing a cleaning treatment for the flag following scientific analysis was the third phase. To the best of our knowledge, the British did not specifically target the flag. The hours passed slowly, but in the clearing smoke of "the dawn's early light" on September 14, he saw the American flagnot the British Union Jackflying over the fort, announcing an American victory. The two additional stars and stripes, approved by the United States Congress's Flag Act of 1794, represent Vermont and Kentucky's entrance into the Union. In January of 1862, Brig. Is Fort McHenry free? Each of its 15 stars measures about two feet across and each of its 15 stripes are about two feet wide. In this photo from the Smithsonian Archives, Smithsonian collections are crated and covered with a tarp to be transferred to a storage facility in Luray, Virgina, for safekeeping during World War II. It is for Colonel Brooke to consider under such circumstances whether he has Force sufficient to defeat so large a number as it [is] saidthe Enemy has collected; say 20,000 strong. Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), The Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem, A View of the Bombardment of Fort McHenry. More than two hundred years since the perilous fight" over Baltimore, the legacies of the Old Defenders of Baltimore of 1814 are remembered annually on Defenders' Day.And the American flag now with 50 stars rather than 15 flies, by presidential proclamation, over Fort McHenry day and night. The garrison flag, according to eyewitness accounts, wasn't raised until the morning. These troops were able to draw fire from the fort, but did not draw troops away from Baltimore. No, Key was a lawyer in Washington, D.C. Let us know!. Sign up for our quarterly email series highlighting the environmental benefits of battlefield preservation. Around 3:00 p.m., he attacks the American positions. A week earlier, Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old American lawyer, had boarded the flagship of the British fleet on the Chesapeake Bay in hopes of persuading the British to release a friend who had recently been arrested. Mary Pickersgill (born Mary Young; February 12, 1776 - October 4, 1857) was the maker, along with thirteen-year-old Grace Wisher, her African American enslaved servant, of the Star-Spangled Banner hoisted over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.The daughter of another noted flag maker, Rebecca Young, Pickersgill learned her craft from her mother, and, in 1813, was . [49][50][51], The National Museum of American History produced an online exhibition in conjunction with the reopening of Flag Hall in 2008. Whether or not Francis Scott Key actually visited Fort McHenry that day, he would have not seen a stack of "patriots' bodies" holding the flag pole upright. When Confederate soldiers carried their national flag into battle, its stars and stripes led to confusionespecially when the smoke and wind of battle wrapped the flag around its staff. By noon it started to rain. Francis Scott Key went down below and told the men what was about to happen. We go, however, to a ball game, we stand in our church services, and we sing the words of that song and they float over our minds and our lips and we don't even realize what we're singing. [16] Historians suggest that the storm flag flew through the night, and the garrison flag was hoisted in the morning, after the British retreated.[17]. March 1, 2007 A conservator works on the Star-Spangled Banner in 1914. If you want fictional war accounts, we recommend Game of Thrones. Through the clouds of the war the stars of that banner still shone in my view, and I saw the discomforted host of its assailants driven back in ignominy to theirships. Chafingat the need to coordinate with an officer so junior to his rank, all Cochrane could do was reiterate his assessment and make his disapproval known, hoping that it would sway Brooke. Over the next six weeks, Mary, her daughter, three of Mary's nieces, a 13-year-old indentured servant and possibly Mary's mother Rebecca Young worked 10-hour days sewing the flag, using 300 yards of English wool bunting. Quick Facts about the Star-Spangled Banner Flag. [46], Due to environmental and light damage, a four-phase restoration project began in May 1999. F or as famous as it is, the so-called Star-Spangled Banner is shrouded in plenty of misconceptions. He said 'Hundreds." Initially, the British strategy during the War of 1812 had been defensive. However, scholars continue to debate whether the storm flag flew during 25-hour bombardment. It will be here within striking distance in a matter of about two-and-a-half hours.' A large flag, but one not unusual for the time. An interactive component allows site visitors to closely explore features of the flag in detail, download an audio-descriptive tour of the exhibition for the visually-impaired, and hear the song performed on original instruments from the National Museum of American History's collection. On September 7, 1814, Key, accompanied by American prisoner-of-exchange officer John Skinner, boarded the Tonnant, flagship of the British fleet, where Beanes was being held. After the battle, the flag came into the possession of Major Armistead. He said 'We're going to remove it from the face of the earth.' Huge, vibrant, and rich in history, most Americans are familiar with the story of this particular flag: It's the one that flew overFort McHenrythe morning after the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words that would one day become our national anthem. As World War II began, plans were made to protect a number of the Smithsonian's most precious objects. They made the stars, each measuring two feet in diameter, from cottona luxury item at the time. Bodies of the dead were not used to hold up the flag pole a 42 by 30 foot flag has to be on a well-anchored pole, not held up by a few dead bodies stacked around it. West Virginia and Nevada joined the Union in 1863 and 1864 respectively. But by 9:30 a.m., Admiral Cochrane knew his fleet would be mired for the foreseeable future those shore batteries, coupled with a chain-mast boom, sunken vessels, U.S. gun boats and the Lazaretto Battery, presented a formidable harbor defensive line and any infantry assault would lack naval support. "I gave the flag to the National Museum with the firm and settled intention of having it remain there forever," he wrote, "and regarded the acceptance of the gift by the Authorities of the Museum as evidence of their willingness to comply with this condition", Eben asked Walcott to ensure that any "citizen who visits the museum with the expectation of seeing the flag be sure of finding it in its accustomed place.". For making the Star-Spangled Banner, Mary was paid $405.90. During the Battle of Baltimore on September 13 and 14, 1814, heavy thunderstorms over Fort McHenry prevented the flying of the flag we know today as the Star Spangled Banner. No, Mary Pickersgill did not make a mathematical error. The Battle of Fort Henry, Tennessee occurred as part of a Union plan to open a water route into the Confederate heartland by capturing Forts Henry and Donelson. The video implies this was during the American Revolution, which began in 1775 (although some argue the first battle was fought in October 1774) and officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. At 30 by 42. On the night of Saturday the 10th inst. Each of the eight stars represented a Confederate state in March 1861 when the flag was adopted. Having worked on historic flags for the United States Naval Academy, Fowler had patented a method of supporting fragile flags with a linen backing that required a honeycomb pattern of stitches. Accordingly, he launched a late evening diversionary barge attack on the western shore, the backdoor of the American land defenses. There were about 28 American casualties. Did dead bodies hold up the flag at Fort Mchenry? Baltimore, Despite their feelings about disunion, the Armistead family made a specific effort to protect the flag that symbolized a preserved and united nation. That night, Key finalized the four stanzas of the Defense of Fort McHenry., Three days later, the poem was printed on a broadside alongside the melody to a popular English tavern 1780 tune, To Anacreon in Heaven.A thousand copies were distributed to the garrison of Fort McHenry: A young militia soldier wrote his family We have a Song composed by Mr. Key of G[eorge] Town which was presented to every individual in the fort.By mid-autumn, further pnntmgs contained musical notations and a new title: The Star-Spangled Banner.. TheBritish army broke camp andbegan its retreat; the last of thefailed naval barges returned to thefleet. They appeared over time as the iron particles corroded. Federal Identification Number (EIN): 54-1426643. The admiral came and he said 'Your people are insane.' Bodies of the dead were not used to hold up the flag pole a 42 by 30 foot flag has to be on a well-anchored pole, not held up by a few dead bodies stacked around it. He was on an American truce ship at the time. [31], Eben Appleton was highly protective of the flag and disliked the attention it brought him. Subscribe to the American Battlefield Trust's quarterly email series of curated stories for the curious-minded sort! After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans once more felt their homeland might be under real physical threat. In February 1815, the storm flag was lost to history after being replaced by a new one from the Schuylkill Arsenal in Philadelphia. There were about 28 American casualties. Initially they worked from Mary's home (now a private museum known as the Flag House), but as their work progressed they needed more room and had to move to Claggett's brewery across the street. "There's a legend that the star was buried with one of the soldiers from Fort McHenry; another says that it was given to Abraham Lincoln," says Kendrick. Fort McHenry, Sept. 24th, 1814. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! The poem would be put to the music of a common tune, retitled "The Star-Spangled Banner", and a portion of it would later be adopted as the national anthem of the United States. Between 12th and 14th Streets September 13. [42], A conservation effort was undertaken in 1982 to protect the flag from damage due to dust and light. On August 19, 1813, the flag was delivered to Fort McHenry. Constitution Avenue, NW The larger of the two flags had stripes two feet wide, and stars 24 inches from point to point. The flag originally measured 30 by 42 feet (9.1 by 12.8m) and weighed about 50 pounds (23kg). His brother-in-law, commander of a militia at Fort McHenry, read Key's work and had it distributed under the name "Defence of Fort M'Henry." "It seemed as though mother earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone," Key wrote later. Let me tell you a story. The failed bombardment of Fort McHenryforces Brooke to abandon the land assault on Baltimore. which was built in 1798. Several of these cuttings from the Star-Spangled Banner have been located over the years, including about a dozen that are owned by the American History Museum. In 1912, Georgiana Armistead Appleton'sson Eben Appleton decided to give the Star-Spangled Banner to the Smithsonian as a permanent gift. In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. Georgiana Armistead Appleton,George Armistead's daughter, inherited the flag upon her mother's death in 1861. He wanted to be sure the British could see the United States colors from their distant warships. When the flag arrived at the Smithsonian it was smaller (30 by 34 feet), damaged from years of use at the fort and from pieces being removed as souvenirs. This is what it looks like on social media: The true story of the Star Spangled Banner is inspiring, as it was written after a key battle near the end of the War of 1812. A severe indisposition, the effect of great fatigue and exposure, has prevented me heretofore from presenting you with an account of the attack on this post. So the old flag survives, bathed in dim light, floating out of the darkness, just as it did on that uncertain morning at Fort McHenry. The American colonies had prisoners and the British had prisoners and the American government initiated a move, they went to the British and they said 'Let us negotiate for the release of these prisoners.' Did dead bodies hold up the flag at Fort McHenry? I've often been fighting back tears during the National Be Y's 7/3/16 7:55pm He began his military career during the Quasi War with France in 1799 as an Ensign in the Seventh Infantry Regiment, rising quickly to Second and then First Lieutenant by May 1800. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! Only twice in its history has the Star-Spangled Banner been hidden away to keep it safe from war, though America has fought many more wars than that since 1814. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." It is she who is thought to have sewed the red upside-down "V" on the flag, beginning the stitches for the letter "A." By early morning of September 14, it was over. The death toll suffered at the fort was four, with 25 wounded. [8] The smaller of the two flags would be the Storm Flag, to be more durable and less prone to fouling in inclement weather. The British were intent on removing any threat from Fort McHenry ahead of an assault to capture Baltimore. 12. Often lost in the near-mythic symbolism attached to this moment in the American consciousness is the fact that Fort McHenrys commander, Major George Armistead, did not order the flag hoisted in a special act of triumph or defiance. Directives from London were clear that once troops went ashore, combat decisions belonged with the army rather than the navy, but such guidance had not anticipated that those soldiers might be under the command of a mere colonel. Bodies of the dead were not used to hold up the flag pole- a 42 by 30 foot flag has to be on a well-anchored pole, not held up by a few dead bodies stacked around it. The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education. The ships got closer, Francis Scott Key went back up top and he said 'Men, I will shout down to you what's going on as we watch.'. [34][35] In 1912, Appleton formally donated it to the Smithsonian. At the time, the practice of adding stripes (in addition to stars) with the induction of a new state had not yet been discontinued. But just what did that flag, that for and those defenders endure?. The most recent flagpole at Fort McHenry dated to 1989. The flag was stitched from a combination of cotton and dyed English wool bunting. [29][30], Georgiana Appleton died in 1878 and left the flag to her son, Eben Appleton. Two days later, having reembarked the land forces, the fleet sailed down the Chesapeake, soon to receive new Admiralty orders to attack the port of New Orleans, an engagement that took place before word could arrive that peace had been secured through a conference in Ghent, Belgium. These are some typical questions people have about customs and rules surrounding African American History Curatorial Collective, the flag's most recent conservation check-up, why the national anthem is so hard to sing, a nationwide sing of the national anthem on Flag Day (June 14, 2014), When lightning strikes: The making and meaning of a patriotic symbol, Rene Fleming's Super Bowl gown: A curatorial jackpot, Pointers from the Flag Code, just in time for Flag Day.

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