Night at the Museum Series: The Star Spangled Banner

For the Next 12 weeks I will be doing a blog post series based on the Star Spangled Banner. Stay tuned every Saturday for a new piece of the story provided by the Smithsonian.

On September 14, 1814, U.S. soldiers at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry raised a huge American flag to celebrate a crucial victory over British forces during the War of 1812. The sight of those “broad stripes and bright stars” inspired Francis Scott Key to write a song that eventually became the United States national anthem. Key’s words gave new significance to a national symbol and started a tradition through which generations of Americans have invested the flag with their own meanings and memories.