did bodies hold up the flag at fort mchenry

The British were more concerned with defeating Napoleon in Europe than fighting a minor war with the United States. The imposing Fort McHenry, at the mouth of the inner harbor, provided the linchpin for the American defenses. [23], In 1873, Appleton lent the flag to George Henry Preble, a naval officer who had written a popular history of the American flag. In 1813,Mary Pickersgill, a Baltimore flagmaker, was commissioned to make two flags for Fort McHenry. 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. And history records no "way out" offered by signalling surrender with the lowering of the flag. This is made up. 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 failed bombardment of Fort McHenry forced the British to abandon their land assault on the crucial port city of Baltimore. Original size: 30 feet by 42 feet. In 1907, Eben Appleton lent the flag to the Smithsonian, and it was put on display at the National Museum (now the Arts and Industries Building). She is also thought to have begun the tradition of giving pieces of the flag away to honor her husband's memory, as well as the memories of the soldiers who defended the fort under his command. Donations to the Trust are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under the law. 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. Did dead bodies hold up the flag at Fort McHenry? 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. It is baffling why anyone would fabricate historical facts that would then be assumed to be authentic. The final poem, called The Defense of Fort MHenry, was printed and later set to the tune of a popular song. Francis Scott Key went down below and told the men what was about to happen. It was Englands most powerful naval armament, floating siege ships capable of inflicting severe damage and further supported by the rocket ship HMS Erebus with her 32-pounder Congreve rockets, and several light draft frigates and brigs. "[54], Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas; catalog "Political & Americana Auction, November 30, 2011; New England Historic Genealogical Society, Dictionary definition of "garrison flag" at www.merriam-webster.com, Naval Telecommunications Procedures: Flags, Pennants, and Customs, August 1986, section 304, p. 3-1 at www.ushistory.org, "The Star-Spangled Banner: Making the Flag", "The Star-Spangled Banner: Family Keepsake", "The Star-Spangled Banner: Congratulations", "The African American Girl Who Helped Make the Star-Spangled Banner", "A hundred years ago: The centennial of the Star-Spangled Banner", "Star-Spangled Banner becomes permanent part of USNM collection", "The 'Star-Spangled Banner' goes on view in grand style", Science News "Old Glory, New Glory: The Star-Spangled Banner gets some tender loving care", "Smithsonian Seeks $300,000 to Save Dorothy's Ruby Slippers", Washington POST "Reopening, in All Its Old Glory", "Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas: Brady Camera and Kennedy Rocker Take Top Bids in Americana Auction", Interactive image of original flag which includes a zoom to view detail, Research project to preserve the flag's fabric using LED technology, The original flag at the National Museum of American History, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star-Spangled_Banner_(flag)&oldid=1148360196, This page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 18:21. 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. The video opened: (Written text on screen) We guarantee that you will NEVER feel the same way again when you sing this song at a sporting event after you hear this story! Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Lead Stories LLC: You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. [31], Eben Appleton was highly protective of the flag and disliked the attention it brought him. 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. Despite a stalwart initial defense, the Americans begin to give way to the British regulars. Francis Scott Key said what held that flag at that unusual angle were patriots' bodies. 15-star flag above Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore, Md. Every purchase supports the mission. 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. Privacy Statement which was built in 1798. 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. Quick Facts about the Star-Spangled Banner Flag. In the case of the Star-Spangled Banner, however, that will likely never happen. He was on an American truce ship at the time. He was elated and relieved, certain that God had intervened. In spite of their different motivations for serving, all of the men had one thing in common the protection of Baltimore from destruction. And they said 'We want to send a man by the name of Francis Scott Key. A spokesperson for Speaker Pelosi confirmed via phone that the claim the flag gifted to Floyd's family is exclusively reserved for military personnel is false. You can also view this Smithsonian Channel video. George Washington never said that. In the twilight hours of Friday, September 16, the President was released and docked alongside Hughes Wharf at Fells Point. The American Battlefield Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. was its question.. 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. [9][10] Armistead specified "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance". Superior British weapons pounded the fort from newly designed bomb ships anchored safely out of range of the fort's own guns. There was no group of prisoners held in the cargo hold of the ship from where Key watched the battle. The larger of the two flags had stripes two feet wide, and stars 24 inches from point to point. The most recent flagpole at Fort McHenry dated to 1989. Then, in that hour of deliverance and joyful triumph, my heart spoke, and Does not such a country and such defenders of their country deserve a song?' The prayer 'God, keep that flag flying where we last saw it.'. O Say Can You See: The Bombardment of Fort McHenry. How and when this occurred is unclear. But when he sees the large flag flying over the fort on the morning of September 14, he knows the fort held. It was eventually retitled The Star-Spangled Banner. The composition was sung at patriotic gatherings and political events for more than a century before President Herbert Hoover proclaimed it the national anthem of the United States in 1931. How it ended United States victory. Francis Scott Key went aboard and immediately went into Fort Henry to see what had happened. Two eyewitnessesa British midshipman out in the harbor and an American private inside the fortrecounted seeing a flag being raised above the fort in the morning, so the logical conclusion is that the garrison flag seen that morning was not flying during the battle itself. "Was," because this object at hand, the original Star-Spangled Banner, is no. It was, of course, the huge American flag that flew over Baltimore's Fort McHenry on a hot summer night in 1814. And what he found had happened was that flag pole and that flag had suffered repetitious direct hits, and when hit had fallen, but men, fathers, who knew what it meant for that flag to be on the ground, although knowing that all of the British guns were trained on it, walked over and held it up humanly until they died. Ross, hearing the skirmishing, rides forward to assess the situation. One of the soldiers who was in the fort during the 25-hour bombardment wrote, "We were like pigeons tied by the legs to be shot at. The privateers were armed, and their work was legally sanctioned. To the best of our knowledge, the British did not specifically target the flag. 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. Everything was made ready at Fort McHenry to defend Baltimore. Subscribe to the American Battlefield Trust's quarterly email series of curated stories for the curious-minded sort! Victoria "Tory" Altman is an Education Specialist in the Office of Education Outreach. "I was taking part in a special National Park Service maintenance training program," says Boyd. First, there were no "colonies" in 1814. At dawn on June 14, 1846, a ragtag group of about 30 gun-toting Americans entered Sonoma, a small town in the Mexican territory of Alta California. The harbors 122 American privateering vessels would ultimately cause some 16 million dollars of damage to the enemy. ", In this 1993 photo from Smithsonian Archives, the flag is shown inside the museum's center hall. ", The Star-Spangled Banner's history starts not with Francis Scott Key, but a year earlier with Maj. George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry. And Francis Scott Key said 'What do you mean?' I GUARANTEE you, if you watch this video, you will never think of our National Anthem in the same way again. 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 defenders hold initially, inflicting heavy casualties and resorting to firing scrap metal from their cannon because of a lack of canister. The star-spangled banner may not have been run up the flagpole until first light on September 14. [11][12], Pickersgill made the flag with assistance from her daughter, two nieces, and an African American indentured servant, Grace Wisher.[13]. Made in Baltimore, Maryland, in July-August 1813 by flagmaker Mary Pickersgill. That changed after architects designed the new National Museum of History and Technology, now the National Museum of American History, with space to allow the flag to hang. George Armistead was born April 10, 1780, in Newmarket, Virginia. The death toll suffered at the fort was four, with 25 wounded. It was with huge surprise and joy that as dawn broke, he saw, not the Union Jack flying above the fort, but the American flag. 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 fort suffered only light damage from the 1,500 cannonballs, rockets and shells fired upon it. The ship carried Colonel John S. Skinner, U.S. State Department prisoner exchange agent, and 35-year-old Georgetown attorney Francis Scott Key. The garrison flag, according to eyewitness accounts, wasn't raised until the morning. 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. The First American President: Setting the Precedent, African Americans During the Revolutionary War, Help Save 820 Acres at Five Virginia Battlefields, Save 343 Acres at FIVE Battlefields in FOUR Western Theater States, Save 42 Historic Acres at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Phase Three of Gaines Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign, An Unparalleled Preservation Opportunity at Gettysburg Battlefield. "Louisa wanted Georgiana to have it.". [8] The smaller of the two flags would be the Storm Flag, to be more durable and less prone to fouling in inclement weather. And they said 'How many ships?' Perhaps most important is this: The massive relic on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History is NOT the flag that . September 13. Each of its 15 stars measures about two feet across and each of its 15 stripes are about two feet wide. Every purchase supports the mission. At 4:30 a.m., the American batteries fell silent, followed at 7:30 a.m. by the last British bomb to arc over the Patapsco River toward Fort McHenry. For the next 50 years, with the exception of a brief move during World War II, the Star-Spangled Banner was displayed in what is now the Arts and Industries Building. United States victory. The narrator refers to Fort Henry, which did not exist. And it's never leaving. They carried with them. [32][33], The Armistead family occasionally gave away pieces of the flag as souvenirs and gifts.[6]. In fact, the number of stars on the flag actually grew during the war from 34 to 36. To preserve this American icon, experts at the National Museum of American History recently completed an eight-year conservation treatment with funds from Polo Ralph Lauren, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Congress. The British attack on Baltimore had began in earnest. A national subscription magazinepublishedlocally,NilesWeeklyRegister,recorded that thehouses in the city were shakentotheir foundations for never,perhapsfromthe timeof invention of cannonto thepresent day, were the same number ofpiecesfired with so rapid a succession.The vivid display of early 19th-century shock and awe could be heard 100 miles awayinPhiladelphia. 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. [19][20] Some years, it was flown at Baltimore's celebration of Defenders Day, the anniversary of the battle. Did bodies hold up the flag at Fort McHenry? Robert M. Poole is the magazine's contributing editor. There were about 28 American casualties. Joining them is the rocket ship HMSErebus, which launches the newly invented Congreve rockets. We're launching interpretation of African American history at 7 key battlefields, located in 5 states, spanning 3 wars. "Georgiana was the only child born at the fort, and she was named for her father," says Thomassen-Krauss. Federal Identification Number (EIN): 54-1426643. The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 56,000 acres in 25 states! The job went out to a 37-year-old widow. But when darkness arrived, Key saw only red erupting in the night sky. The bombardment turned to Fort McHenry on the morning of September 13, and continuous shelling occurred for 25 hours under heavy rain. 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. another account of the battle of Fort McHenry. He said 'The thing that sets the American Christian apart from all other people in the world is he will die on his feet before he will live on his knees.'. [48], Following the reopening of the museum on November 21, 2008, the flag is now on display in a two-story display chamber that allows it to lie at a 10-degree angle in dim light. Each star was stitched into place on one side of the flag and the cloth on the reverse side was then cut away to reveal it. For example, it claims the song was written during the American Revolution, although it was penned more than three decades later in September 1814 -- in the final months of the War of 1812. He had successfully negotiated with the British for the release of an American prisoner but was held onboard because an assault was imminent. Verified signatory of the IFCN Code of Principles, Facebook Third-Party Fact-Checking Partner. 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. In 1814, the United States flag had 15 stars and 15 stripes. For making the Star-Spangled Banner, Mary was paid $405.90. Accordingly, he launched a late evening diversionary barge attack on the western shore, the backdoor of the American land defenses. Militarily, Baltimore was a far more important city than Washington because of its thriving port and strategic location. As twilight began to fall and as the haze hung over the ocean as it does at sunset, suddenly, the British war fleet unleashed. He (the British admiral) said 'Don't worry about it.' Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Visitor Center. Despite attempts to fire back, the British ships were just out of range of the Fort's cannons, and so by 11:00 a.m., General Armistead gave orders to slow things down to save ammunition. At 30 by 42. Command of the land forces passes to Col.Arthur Brooke. The British land a combined force of soldiers, sailors, and Royal Marines at North Point, a peninsula at the fork of the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay, on September 12, 1814. Each star, by the way, is made of cotton and was created by reverse applicqu method. During that conflict, the British conducted frequent raids on American towns and harbors along the Atlantic coast, including forays into Chesapeake Bay. 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. "It seemed as though mother earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone," Key wrote later. In February 1815, the storm flag was lost to history after being replaced by a new one from the Schuylkill Arsenal in Philadelphia. The most-viewed version of the video is a post (archived here) published on July 4, 2014, under the title "Our National Anthem." He said 'Tonight, I have negotiated successfully your return to the colonies.' Let us know!. This is a far stronger defense than the British expect; they are outnumbered two to one. 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. 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. "It's exciting to realize that you're looking at the very same flag that Francis Scott Key saw on that September morning in 1814. Its message was clear: The British threat had passed, and Baltimore was saved. While ordering his men to drive off the American riflemen, Ross is shot in the chest and dies a few hours later. This British defeat was a turning point in the War of 1812, leading both sides to reach a peace agreement later that year. Let me tell you a story. Is the "Our National Anthem" video produced by Robert Surgernor the true story of "The Star Spangled Banner"? He said 'Don't they understand this is an impossible situation?' Francis Scott Key said he remembered what George Washington had said. Sign up to receive the latest information on the American Battlefield Trust's efforts to blaze The Liberty Trail in South Carolina. While there are some details that differ from the Surgernor video, it is the same story. [4][5] Each of the fifteen stripes is 2 feet (0.61m) wide, and each of the stars measures about 2 feet (0.61m) in diameter. But a missing 15th star has never been found. [27] It was then kept in the Society's vault until 1876, when it was taken to the vault of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He (Key) said 'You can't shell that fort.' Let us know!. Around midday, while the British halt for a meal, Stricker orders 250 riflemen and cannon to draw the British toward his forces. Eben immediately wrote to the Secretary of the Smithsonian,Charles D. Walcott. "We're aware of at least a dozen more that exist in other museums and private collections," says Kendrick. The bombardment began at sunrise, not sunset, and continued for 27 hours. Several feet of fabric have been lost from the flag's fly end, from cuttings that were given away as souvenirs and gifts, as well as from deterioration from continued use. 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. [25] Preble had the flag quilted to a canvas sail, and unfurled it at the Boston Navy Yard to take the first known photograph of it. "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.". Today it is permanently housed in the National Museum of American History, one of the Smithsonian Institution museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The same family that kept the Star-Spangled Banner safe during the Civil War also sympathized with the Confederacy. Key started composing a verse about his experience while still onboard the Tonnant, and once he was safely rowed ashore, he edited the work into four stanzas. Sign up to receive the latest information on the American Battlefield Trust's efforts to blaze The Liberty Trail in South Carolina. By 10:00 a.m. that morning, both the cloud cover and the threat of rain increased over the area. The birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner, Fort McHenry still stands as it did when "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof Our FREE Virtual Teacher Institute is the can't miss online educator event of the summer. See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends) and leave the link in the comments. Under their scrutiny, Key watched on September 13 as the barrage of Fort McHenry began eight miles away. [34][36][37] The flag was restored by Amelia Fowler in 1914. Scott S. Sheads is a retired ranger-historian and Historic Weapons Officer at Fort McHenry National Historic Site and Shrine in Baltimore, Md., a position he took up in 1979. On September 12, 1814, 5,000 British soldiers and a fleet of 19 ships attacked Baltimore. Again, this is an imaginary conversation. That same year, Preble had the first known photograph of it taken at the Boston Navy Yard and exhibited it at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, where he stored it until 1876. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here. They said 'We've left them a way out,' and he said 'What's that?' Also, there were no large groups of American prisoners held in the cargo hold of boats. Bonus fact in response to a question from the comments: The Star-Spangled Banner flag does not have burn marks on it. Georgiana, herself, had given away cuttings of the flag to other Armistead descendants, as well as family friends. [53] The framed remnant came with a faded, hand-written note attesting it was "A piece of the Flag which floated over Fort McHenry at the time of the bombardment when Key's (sic) composed the Song of the Star Spangled Banner, presented by Sam Beth Cohen. They were holding the American prisoners in boats about a thousand yards offshore. Lead Stories is a U.S. based fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or Skinner and Key had been dispatched to obtain the release of the elderly Dr. William Beanes, who had been taken prisoner during the Washington campaign for confronting three British soldiers. Coming in at 17 x 25 feet, this storm flag was much smaller and was designed to withstand tough weather, such as the raging winds and pouring rain that occurred during the Battle of Baltimore. The flag pole itself was at a crazy angle, but the flag was still at the top. Their bodies were removed and others took their place. The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education. Spotted something? Published: September 9, 2020. Was the flag at Fort McHenry held up bodies? 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. March 1, 2007 A conservator works on the Star-Spangled Banner in 1914. The commander in chief had no way of knowing that in response to his latest note, Brooke had, in fact, ordered the infantry retreat from Baltimore to begin by dawn. After the Battle of Baltimore. He says 'It's predominantly not a military fort.' The Star-Spangled Banner remained in Flag Hall from 1964 until 1999, when it was moved to the conservation lab. You can also view this Smithsonian Channel video on YouTube. 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. 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. The bombardment, known as the Battle of Baltimore, came only weeks after the British had attacked Washington, D.C., burning the Capitol, the Treasury and the President's house. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Flag Officer Andrew Foote were commissioned to lead a joint expedition to seize the twin forts. The British were intent on removing any threat from Fort McHenry ahead of an assault to capture Baltimore. It was Fort McHenry, a star-shaped fort perfectly situated on the Baltimore Harbor. In fact, military posts traditionally lower the American flag at night. He said 'We're going to remove it from the face of the earth.' Without this can be done it will only bethrowing the Men's lives away:. [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]. While the conservators worked, the public looked on. The First American President: Setting the Precedent, African Americans During the Revolutionary War, Help Save 820 Acres at Five Virginia Battlefields, Save 343 Acres at FIVE Battlefields in FOUR Western Theater States, Save 42 Historic Acres at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Phase Three of Gaines Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign, An Unparalleled Preservation Opportunity at Gettysburg Battlefield. 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. The situation was complicated by the long lag time in communications. The 1,000 Americans at Fort McHenry are commanded by Maj.George Armistead. 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. [49][50][51], The National Museum of American History produced an online exhibition in conjunction with the reopening of Flag Hall in 2008. Five years later, he made the gift permanent, saying he wanted it to belong "to the Institution in the country where it could be conveniently seen by the public and where it would be well cared for.". Naval support will be required to dislodge the American forces, and Fort McHenry will have to be eliminated. If you want fictional war accounts, we recommend Game of Thrones. 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. Cochrane dispatched the assessmentto his colleagues ashore: It is impossible for the Ships to render you any assistance the Town [of Baltimore] is so far retired within the Forts. When markings on the flag were investigated and analyzed, they were found to be from iron corrosion. How long did the star-spangled banner wave? Thanks to these early and exhaustive plans, the British were repulsed at Fort McHenry in 1814 and abandoned their Chesapeake Campaign. Now, here are the most obvious ways this video is filled with fake history: Francis Scott Key was a lawyer in Baltimore. The British attack on Baltimore had began in earnest. The Americans withdraw to Baltimore and Brooke halts for the rest of the day to consolidate his forces.

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