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.

This flag, which measured 30 feet by 42 feet, was the original Star-Spangled Banner that inspired the lines of Francis Scott Key’s renowned poem, later to become America’s national anthem.

By now you’ve probably heard the claim that America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” is an expression ... In Robert Burns’s battle poem “Scots Wha Hae,” written in ...

The Star Spangled Banner is part of a poem about a battle ... The third stanza of the original poem which refers to former slaves who were working for the British, is not part of the anthem ...

One of the first musicians to interpret the “Star Spangled Banner” in a way that displayed a Black consciousness was the ...

The first verse of the poem, Defence of Fort M'Henry, later became known as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner, which officially became the national anthem of the United States in 1931.