09/24/2001

Showing the Flag

Thank you to B. L. Walker for sending in this essay about the history of our national anthem. Our flag, a symbol of freedom around the world, has new meaning to all of us in these difficult times.

A Salute to the Star Spangled Banner
By B. L. Walker

Every so often, we hear that some group wants to replace our national anthem. They claim it's too hard to sing. Perhaps they don't appreciate the circumstances under which the anthem came into being.

During the War of 1812, the United States was under attack from British war ships in the Chesapeake Bay at Baltimore. It was September 13, 1814. The Brits' mission was to destroy Baltimore. The White House and Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. had already been captured and burned.

A Georgetown lawyer, Francis Scott Key, rode by horseback from Washington to Baltimore carrying a letter from President Madison requesting release of an elderly medical doctor, William Beanes, imprisoned on the British flagship, the H.M.S. Tonnant.

Key, assigned to a small U. S. truce vessel, searched the harbor, and after locating the flagship, mustered his considerable legal expertise to secure Dr. Beanes' release. The pair returned to the truce vessel, but before they could set sail for Baltimore, a bloody battle began.

It was dusk as Key and the doctor looked toward Fort McHenry with its elevated ramparts, the last fortification preventing British soldiers from storming ashore. They saw their beloved flag, its 15 broad stripes and bright stars, in tatters, but still flying.

Through the night of shelling, Key and his friend watched and listened as rockets whistled through the air, lighting the dark sky. They kept their vigil, searching the blackness, with the only illumination provided by a glow from over 1,500 shells exploding on American soil.

To their vast relief, dawn's early light provided the answer for which they prayed: our flag was still there. Stop a moment and ponder what the United States might be today had that ragged flag not been flying on Sept. 14, 1814.

Key, an amateur poet, was so moved by what he had witnessed that he took an envelope from his pocket and jotted down the first stanza of a poem his brother-in-law titled "The Defense of Fort McHenry." Sometime later, Key set his words to the melody of an 18th century drinking song by John Stafford Smith.

Americans gave the song patriotic overtones in the early 20th century. During Herbert Hoover's Presidency in 1931, Congress declared The Star Spangled Banner our national anthem.

It became the first piece played at inaugural balls when the President and First Lady led the dancing. Yes, people actually danced to the tune because its rhythm was, and still is, a waltz set in three-quarter time. It is not a march.

A frequent criticism of the anthem is that it's pitched too high to sing comfortably. But band conductors say that's incorrect and unfair. When played in A-flat or B-flat, the melody is within easy range for all voices.

Until recently, audiences weren't often asked to sing our anthem. Rather it is performed for us, or at us by high-priced talent, and too often made as poor-taste joke. That has changed.

On Sept. 11, 2001, a terrorist attack turned America's world upside down, three days shy of the anthem's 187th birthday. In the days following, bands in countries around the world played the piece by way of showing U.S. citizens that they share our grief. Flags of all sizes fly off store shelves. We can't get enough of Old Glory and proudly display the stars and stripes in parks, on porches, wheelchairs, baby's hats, car mirrors, school yards, The Pentagon, market places, and all manner of businesses. Many respectfully fly at half-staff.

Our handsome flag was born at a pivotal point in American's past. Through the centuries, it has been the shining symbol of our noble people.

Stand tall when you salute her or sing the words that were conceived during another dark night in our history. We've proven we are a land of the brave.

***

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.