Happy Independence Day

[z07]

Happy Independence Day

The war was going badly for the Americans. They had chosen to fight the British 36 years after the American revolution over the pressing of sailors and quartering of troops. The world’s largest navy and best equipped, trained, and officered army were beating us. Washington D.C. had fallen to the British and they burned the government buildings. The American leadership fled the city. Dolly Madison scooped up the documents that defined a new experimental self government and left town as the British entered.

Francis Scott Key with the agent of prisoner exchange made his way out to the British fleet in a small craft. The British were about to attack Baltimore and held the cartel vessel until after the attack was over. It was then, in one of the darkest times in our history that Key saw Fort McHenry take a pounding. The fort defended the best approaches to the harbor and the British bombarded the fort and the troops stationed there for hours with cannon, carronade, mortars, and rockets. Key was able to watch the battle and indeed could see the fort’s flag had not been lowered in surrender nor destroyed by bombs until the British stopped their attack in the early hours of that morning. It was reckoned that no one could survive that bombardment and certainly no commander could keep his men from running after twenty five straight hours of attack and no way to respond to the enemy in kind. No one could sleep. The war would soon be over and the Americans would certainly lose. But in the morning the Sun rose and there on the island, behind the ramparts was the flag.

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!