It was on that day, 198 years ago, that Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that would eventually become “The Star-Spangled Banner ... Fort McHenry on Sept. 13, 1814. After 25 hours marked ...

Boiled down to its essence, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is a song about survival and resilience, about bravery and hope. The first stanza of Francis Scott Key's 1814 poem, as sung by generations of ...

was the original Star-Spangled Banner that inspired the lines of Francis Scott Key’s renowned poem, later to become America’s national anthem. On Sept. 13, 1814, two years since the onset of ...

Rather than address claims against the song, it would be my pleasure to look at what makes our national anthem so great.

Like so many famous songs of yore, "The Star-Spangled Banner" started as a poem, called “The Defence of Fort McHenry.” It was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812.

“The Star Spangled Banner” has long been derided as a poor choice for our national anthem. Critics cite it as difficult to sing, difficult to understand, and most often, difficult to lov ...