ORIGIN OF THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER We all know that Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became the American national anthem from the deck of a ship in the Chesapeake Bay. But, what was Key doing on a ship in the Chesapeake Bay at the time? The story begins with Dr. William Beanes. At the time Beanes was a practicing physician and farmer in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He was a respected medical doctor and scientist with an excellent reputation. Beanes came to the forefront during the War of 1812. In the summer of 1814, the British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay sailed up the Patuxent River, landing several regiments of soldiers near Benedict, Maryland. They marched to Upper Marlboro, the county seat, some sixteen miles east-southeast of Washington DC. Dr. Beanes was one of the few people left in the town at that time. He offered British General Robert Ross, and Vice Admiral George Cockburn, the use of his house as a headquarters from August 22 until August 23. There was little resistance to the British in the town and Ross believed that Beanes was sympathetic to the British. The British continued their march onto Washington. There was some American resistance at the town of Bladensburg, Maryland but that was quickly put down and the British marched on to Washington where they burned most of the citys public buildings, including the White House. On their return trip to their ships, some British deserters plundered some of the small farms in the area. Robert Bowie, former governor of Maryland, and a land owner, decided to do something about it. He got Dr. Beanes, Dr. William Hill and Philip Weems to participate. They captured several of the British army deserters and took them to the Prince Georges County jail. One of the deserters escaped and told General Ross of the captives. Ross was furious to think he had been betrayed by Dr. Beanes and immediately put out arrest orders for Beanes, Bowie and the others. They were soon arrested. Ross soon released the others but kept Dr. Beanes taking him back to his ship. Brigadier General William Winder, commander of the Ninth Military District, sent a letter of protest to Ross, but to no avail. Dr. Beanes remained in custody aboard the ship. Some of Dr. Beanes friends turned to Francis Scott Key, a lawyer in Georgetown, for help is securing the doctors release. Key got permission from President James Madison who also sent John Skinner, US Prisoner Exchange Agent in the area. Key and Skinner took one of Skinners flag of truce vessels, theMinden, and set out for the British fleet. They came to the flagship of Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane where they had a meeting with Ross who refused to release Dr. Beanes. Skinner knew Beanes and the high reputation he had. He had the foresight to collect from wounded British soldiers, left behind after the Battle of Bladensburg, letters of how well they were treated by the Americans. Skinner gave Ross the letters. After reading the letters, Ross agreed to release Dr. Beanes. However, Key, Skinner and Beanes continued to be held eight miles off shore from Fort McHenry. They had learned too much about the British plans of the attack on Baltimore to allow them to be free at that time. They remained tied up to a British ship and guarded by British soldiers until the battle began. Key, Skinner and Beanes watched from their ship as the battle went into the night. There was a large flag up up at Fort McHenry that they could see. Eventually, smoke from cannon fire obscured the flag. When morning came on September 14, they saw the flag was still there. Fort McHenry had not fallen. The British began to retreat and Key, Skinner and Beanes were released to return to Baltimore. On the way back, Key was inspired to write a poem describing his experience. The poem was originally called Defense of Fort McHenry. It was fitted to the music of John Stafford Smiths Anacreon in Heaven, a popular drinking song. It has now become known as The Star Spangled Banner. Under this name, the song was adopted as the American national anthem, first by an Executive Order from President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and then by Congressional resolution in 1931, signed by President Herbert Hoover. Now you know the rest of the story. BJ *Heidler, David Stephen et al - Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 *Magruder Jr, Caleb Clarke, Dr. William Beanes - The incidental cause of the authorship of The Star Spangled *Victor Weybright - Spangled Banner - The story of Francis Scott Key *Francis Scott Key - Biography, Encyclopedia of World Biography
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 17:50:51 +0000
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