The Story of "The Rockets' Red Glare"

A man stood on the deck of a ship. His name was Francis Scott Key. He had not wanted this war to happen. But now he watched something scary. Ships from the world's most powerful navy were shooting cannonballs and bombs at a small fort. The fort was protecting a city called Baltimore, Maryland.

The shooting went on for more than 24 hours. Key found out he cared a lot about what would happen. He looked hard through the foggy morning air. Then he saw it — a huge flag! It was big enough for the enemy to see. It meant the fort was still standing strong. The enemy had not won.

Key felt so happy and proud. He grabbed a piece of paper and started writing a poem. The first words were: "O say can you see . . . ."

Why Was There a War?

Key wrote his poem in 1814. This was near the end of a war called the War of 1812. The United States had declared war on Great Britain back in June 1812.

At first, Great Britain was busy fighting another country, France. So they didn't have much time to fight the Americans too. But then a French leader named Napoleon gave up his power in April 1814. After that, Great Britain decided to focus on teaching the Americans a lesson.

In August, fifty British ships sailed up a bay called Chesapeake Bay. The British took over Washington, D.C. on August 24. They burned important buildings, like the Capitol and the White House. Then they turned toward the north.

Fort McHenry stood in the way between the British Navy and the city of Baltimore. The fort would not give up, no matter how hard the British attacked. So the British ships finally sailed away. The people defending the fort cheered! Because of what happened, many Americans started calling the War of 1812 the "Second War of Independence."

A Poem Becomes a Song

Not many people remember the War of 1812 today. But the poem that came from it is still famous. People quickly set the poem to music and called it "The Star-Spangled Banner." Today, it is the national anthem of the United States. It still makes Americans feel proud and brings them together, especially during hard times.