Most people know the story of our National Anthem. It was written by Francis Scott Key during The War of 1812 while he was watching the soldiers was raise the flag over Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept 14, 1814. The song was first used by the Navy in 1889, Pres. Woodrow Wilson used in in 1916, and on March 3, 1931 Congress made a resolution signed by Pres. Herbert Hoover to make this song our National Anthem.
On a more personal note, I have had the privilege to see this flag twice. I saw it in 2002 while it was being restored and again in 2010 after the restoration was complete. It is an amazing flag to see!
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thru the night that our flag was still there.
Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen thru the mists of the deep,
Where the fore's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
"Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the the free and the home of the brave!
Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
No comments:
Post a Comment