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Back to Podcast EpisodesFrancis Scott Key and The Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key and the National Anthem
Key was a prominent lawyer from Frederick, Maryland who, through a sequence of incidents that occurred during the War of 1812, observed one of the most critical episodes in American history.
In fact, Ross and Cockburn had decided on a coordinated air and sea attack. Ross would land his troops at North Point, Maryland at the tip of the Patapsco Neck and make the short fifteen-mile march to the city. After the sixty-mile march on Washington, Ross reasoned that he would handle this much shorter distance with relative ease. Because the Patapsco was relatively shallow, the larger warships would not be able to enter the inner harbor area. Instead Cockburn would take the smaller frigates and bombardment vessels upriver to attack Fort McHenry and after extinguishing the guns of the fort, to bombard the city itself, hopefully leading to a major conflagration.
The British army regrouped briefly but within hours began marching briskly towards Washington. 1,200 men halted two miles from the Capitol, Ross continued into the city itself with 200 elite infantrymen. There was zero resistance, any remaining civilians remained inside their homes. The only remaining American activity in
Published on 9 years, 8 months ago