National Antherm

It was September 14, 1814, and the United States and Great Britain were at war. Frances Scott Key watched the fighting from the deck of a British ship. He was being held captive, with rockets flaring and bombs exploding all around him. After 25 hours, the fighting finally stopped, and Key peered through the clearing smoke. Who had won? Was the American flag still flying? Key wrote a poem about his experience that was later set to music. This book tells the story of the events that make up "The Star-Spangled Banner" and how the song spread across the nation and became our national anthem.

Many of the pictures show the battle scenes that inspired Francis Scott Key's immortal verses.

The circumstances of writing our national anthem are re-created, along with a history of the Battle of Baltimore, in this handsomely illustrated book.