O Say Can You See?

On the morning of September 14, 1814, American gunners on this rampart faced a dramatic scene later captured in the National Anthem. About two miles downstream, halfway to the large Francis Scott Key Bridge visible today, the British fleet had gathered to attack Fort McHenry, with some enemy ships sailing in closer by turns to fire bombs and rockets. Francis Scott Key watched from the deck of a truce ship at the rear of the fleet, behind the modern bridge, while above and behind the gunners the famous flag waved in the breeze. Although many doubt that Key could have seen the flag from such a distance, it was large, he probably used a spyglass, and its bright-starred colors may have stood out when lit by flashing explosives during the overcast night and later by the first rays of dawn.

Baltimore, Maryland · United States