the banner still waves The United States flag is a powerful symbol of our nation During a battle soldiers and others often look to the flag to make sure it is still waving and that the nation it represents has not been defeated If a flag flying on a fort comes down the people watching know that the battle has ended in defeat Perhaps no one watched the American flag as closely as Francis Scott Key did on September 13 1814 near Baltimore Maryland At that time the United States was fighting a war against Great Britain The British had already burned the capital of Washington D C including the White House Now it looked like they might take control of the city of Baltimore as well As Key watched he strained to see if the American flag still flew over Fort McHenry just outside the city It was hard to see through all the smoke and rocket fire Key peered through a telescope The flag was still flying Key was so excited he wrote a poem about this great event Later the poem was set to music Still later the song became the national anthem of the United States 4
IT’S A FACT Francis Scott Key was being held prisoner on board a British ship as he watched the battle 5
a new fort Between 1776 and 1783 the United States fought a war with Great Britain The United States had been a colony of Great Britain for many years However the colonists were angry about unfair taxes and other laws the British made them follow They fought a war and won their independence 6
Drawing of Fort McHenry from 1803 The United States knew it might fight another war someday The new nation wanted to protect its land along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean In 1794 the government decided to build a string of forts along the coast Baltimore was an important coastal city so it was decided to build a fort there In 1798 workers began building a new fort They chose the site of an old fort called Fort Whetstone The new fort was much bigger and stronger than the old fort It had five sides and was shaped like a star At each corner the walls formed an arrow-shaped point In 1802 the first troops arrived at the new fort 7
