Existing comment:
The Star Spangled Banner:
The British withdrew from Washington the evening of the 25th, retracing their steps back to Bladensburg, where they left most of their wounded. They arrived in Upper Marlboro at dusk on the 26th. By August 30th, the British had madde their way to Benedict and were back on board their ships.
As the British returned through Upper Marlborough, deserters began plundering nearby farms. Dr. William Barnes and other Upper Marlboro residents seized six or seven of the deserters and confined them at the jail in Queen Anne. One of the prisoners escaped and informed Major General Ross of the arrests. A contingent of British marines returned to Upper Marlborough and arrested Dr. Beanes and others, and held them in exchange for the release of the British prisoners. The Americans were subsequently released except Dr. Beanes, who was considered the instigator of the incident. In violation of the existing rules of war, he was placed in confinement aboard HMS Tonnant.
Francis Scott Key, US Attorney for the District of Columbia, was urged to seek Beanes' release. Key and the US Agent for Exchange of Prisoners, John Stuart Skinner, set sail to meet the British fleet, and boarded HMS Tonnant under a flag of truce. They showed Major General Ross testimonials from wounded British soldiers from the Battle of Bladensburg attesting to American kindness and the proper medical treatment they had received. General Ross, who had ordered the arrest of Beanes, agreed to release him after the planned attack on Baltimore.
Beanes and Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry from onboard the truce vessel. Key was so moved by the scene of the battle that he composed a poem that eventually became the National Anthem. Key set the poem to the tune of "To Anaereon in Heaven" by John Stafford Smith, because it was a popular American and British melody. Handbills of his poem were quickly printed and copies distributed to every man who was at Fort McHenry during the bombardment. Key's poem was first printed on September 20, 1814, in the Baltimore Patriot and Advertiser under the title "The Defense of Fort McHenry." By the end of the year, the poem and the tune were printed across the country as a reminder of the American victory. In 1931, the US Congress enacted legislation that made "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official National Anthem. |