9781422287552

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A cannon at Fort McHenry overlooks the Chesapeake Bay. A failed assault on this fort by British troops in 1814 inspired a lawyer named Francis Scott Key to write “The Star- Spangled Banner.” His poem would eventually be set to music, and would become the national anthem of the United States.

Battle for Fort McHenry

s he watched from the deck of a ship anchored in the waters of Chesapeake Bay on a warm summer night in 1814, Francis Scott Key was deeply worried about the future of the United States. Two years earlier, President James Madison had declared war on Great Britain, because British warships often stopped American ships. However, things did not go well for the United States. The American soldiers were poorly trained and badly under-supplied. They were no match for the British troops. By 1814, the British had marched into the nation’s capital and burned the White House and other government buildings. This bold military move shook the young nation. Key, a respected young lawyer, had been asked by friends to seek the release of a doctor who had been

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