"NOW, papa, if you're not too tired won't you please tell us about the
writing of the 'Star-Spangled Banner'?" pleaded Lulu, with a smiling,
coaxing look up into her father's face.
"I am not too tired, and if all wish to hear it, will willingly tell the
story to the best of my ability," he replied, taking in his and softly
patting the hand she had laid on his knee.
"I'm sure we will all be glad to hear it, sir," said Walter. "It
happened in the War of 1812, didn't it?"
"Yes. The British had taken Washington, where they had behaved more like
vandals than civilized men, burning and destroying both public buildings
and private property--the Capitol, the President's house, the Arsenal,
the library of Congress, and barracks for nearly three thousand troops;
besides private property--a large ropewalk, some houses on Capitol Hill,
and a tavern; all of which they burned. The light of the fire was seen
at Baltimore, and the news of the capture of Washington caused intense
excitement there; particularly because it was known that the British
were so much exasperated at the Baltimoreans on account of its being
the place whence had been sent out many swift clipper-built vessels and
expert seamen who had struck heavy blows at British commerce on the high
seas.
"Baltimore is on the Patapsco River, ten miles from Chesapeake Bay. The
narrow strait connecting harbor and bay is defended by Fort McHenry,
which stood there at that time. It was expected that Baltimore would be
the next point of attack by the enemy, and there was, of course, great
excitement.
"General Samuel Smith, who had been a revolutionary officer, at once
exerted himself to prepare both Baltimore and Annapolis for successful
defence. He was a fine officer. You all perhaps remember him as
commander at Fort Mifflin when attacked by the British and Hessians in
the Revolutionary War. He had been active in this war also, ever since
the appearance of a British squadron in the Chesapeake, in the spring of
the previous year, 1813."
"And this was in the fall of 1814, was it not, captain?" queried Evelyn.
"Yes, early in September. In the spring of 1813 it was rumored that the
British were coming to attack the city, and several persons were
arrested as traitors and spies. Also five thousand men were quickly in
arms ready to defend the city, and companies of militia came pouring in
from the country. All this within a few hours.
"Then General Striker's brigade and other military bodies, to the number
of five thousand and with forty pieces of artillery, were reviewed. The
marine artillery of Baltimore was one hundred and sixty in number,
commanded by Captain George Stiles, and composed of masters and master's
mates of vessels there. It was a corps celebrated for its gallantry, and
was armed with forty-two pounders.
"Finding the city so well prepared to give them a warm reception the
British abandoned their intention to attack it, went to sea, and
Baltimore enjoyed a season of repose. But, as I have been telling you,
they returned after the capture of Washington, and again the people set
to work at preparations for defence.
"General Smith was made first in command of all the military force
intended to insure the safety of the city. But it is with the attack
upon Fort McHenry and its repulse that we are concerned. The fort was
garrisoned by about a thousand men under the command of Major George
Armistead."
"Regulars, sir?" asked Walter.
"Some were, others volunteers," replied the captain. "There were,
besides, four land batteries to assist in the work. But I will not go
into particulars in regard to them, as I know they would be rather
uninteresting to the greater part of my listeners.
"It was on Sunday evening, September 11, that the British were seen in
strong force at the mouth of the Patapsco, preparing to land at North
Point, fifteen miles from the city by land, twelve by water. Their fleet
anchored off that point, two miles from the shore. It was a beautiful
night, a full moon shining in a cloudless sky, and the air balmy.
"Ross intended to take Baltimore by surprise, and had boasted that he
would eat his Sunday dinner there. At two o'clock in the morning the
boats were lowered from his ships, and seamen and land troops went on
shore, protected by several gun brigs anchored very near. The men were
armed, of course, and each boat had a carronade ready for action.
Admiral Cockburn and General Ross were on shore by about seven o'clock
with 5000 land troops, 2000 seamen, and 2000 marines.
"Their intention was to march rapidly upon Baltimore and take it by
surprise, therefore they carried as little baggage as possible, and only
eighty rounds apiece of ammunition. At the same time a frigate was sent
to make soundings in the channel leading to Baltimore, as the navy was
intended to take part in the attack upon the city."
"Oh, wasn't everybody terribly frightened, papa?" asked Grace.
"There was a good deal of alarm," replied the captain, "and many of the
citizens fled, with their valuables, to places in the interior of the
country, filling the hotels for nearly a hundred miles north of the
city.
"I will not at present go into the details of the battle of North Point,
which immediately followed, but will tell of what was going on upon the
water.
"The British frigates, schooners, sloops, and bomb-ketches had passed
into the Patapsco early in the morning, while Ross was moving from North
Point, and anchored off Fort McHenry, but beyond the reach of its guns.
The bomb and rocket vessels were so posted as to act upon Fort McHenry
and the fortifications on the hill, commanded by Rodgers. The frigates
were stationed farther outward, the water being too shallow to allow
them to approach within four or five miles of the city, or two and a
half of the fort.
"Besides, the Americans had sunk twenty-four vessels in the narrow
channel between Fort McHenry and Lazaretto Point, to prevent the passage
of the vessels of the enemy.
"That night was spent by the British fleet in preparations for the
morrow's attack upon the fort and the entrenchments on the hill, and on
the morning of the 13th their bomb-vessels opened a heavy fire upon the
American works, about seven o'clock, and at a distance of two miles.
They kept up a heavy bombardment until three o'clock in the afternoon.
"Armistead at once opened the batteries of Fort McHenry upon them, but,
after keeping up a brisk fire for some time, discovered that his
missiles fell short and were harmless. It was a great disappointment to
find that he must endure the tremendous shower of the shells of the
enemy without being able to return it in kind, or do anything whatever
to check it. But our brave fellows kept at their posts, enduring the
storm with great courage and fortitude.
"At length a bomb-shell dismounted one of the twenty-four pounders,
killing Lieutenant Claggett and wounding several of his men. That caused
some confusion, which Cochrane perceived, and, hoping to profit by it,
he ordered three of his bomb-vessels to move up nearer the fort,
thinking to thus increase the effectiveness of his guns.
"No movement could have been more acceptable to Armistead, and he
quickly took advantage of it, ordering a general cannonade and
bombardment from every part of the fort, thus punishing the enemy so
severely that in less than half an hour he fell back to his old
anchorage.
"One of their rocket vessels was so badly injured that, to save her from
being entirely destroyed, a number of small boats had to be sent to tow
her out of the reach of Armistead's guns. The garrison gave three cheers
and ceased firing.
"The British vessels returned to their former stations and again opened
fire, keeping up, with very little intermission, a furious bombardment
until past midnight, when it was discovered that they (the British) had
sent a pretty large force up the Patapsco to capture Fort Covington,
commanded by Lieutenant Newcomb, of the United States Navy, and the City
Battery, then attack Fort McHenry in the rear. For this purpose there
had been sent one thousand two hundred and fifty men in barges, with
scaling ladders and other implements for storming the fort. But
providentially their errand was made known to the garrison of Fort
McHenry in good season by the throwing up of rockets to examine the
shores, and not the fort alone but also two redoubts on the Patapsco
immediately opened a heavy fire upon them, and drove them away.
"So heavy was the firing that the houses of Baltimore were shaken to
their very foundations. Lossing tells us that Rodgers's men in Fort
Covington worked their guns with effect, but to Webster's continuous
cannonade with his six gun battery Armistead said he was persuaded the
country was much indebted for the final repulse of the enemy. The
historian adds that he thinks it not too much to say that Webster's
gallant conduct on that occasion saved both Fort McHenry and the city."
"Were any of the British killed, sir?" asked Walter.
"Yes, a large number; also two of their vessels were sunk."
"And did they go on firing at the fort?"
"They did, until seven o'clock in the morning of the 14th, then ceased
entirely."
"Oh, papa, you have not told us of the writing of the 'Star-Spangled
Banner'!" exclaimed Lulu. "Wasn't it that night it was written?"
"Yes; by Mr. Francis S. Key, a resident of Georgetown in the District of
Columbia, who was at that time a volunteer in the light artillery
commanded by Major Peter.
"When the British returned to their vessels after the capture of
Washington, they carried with them Dr. Beanes, a well known physician of
Upper Marlborough. Cockburn carried him away on board the flag-ship of
Admiral Cochrane, in spite of the intercession of his friends.
"Then Mr. Key was entreated by the friends to go to Cochrane and
intercede for the doctor's release. Key consented, obtained permission
of the President, and went under a flag of truce in the cartel ship
_Minden_ in company with General Skinner.
"When they reached the British fleet it was at the mouth of the Potomac,
preparing to attack Baltimore, and though Cochrane agreed to release Dr.
Beanes, he refused to let him or his friends return then. They were
placed on board the _Surprise_ and courteously treated. The fleet sailed
up to the Patapsco, and they were transferred to their own vessel, but
with a guard of marines to prevent them from landing and communicating
with their friends and countrymen.
"Their vessel was anchored in sight of Fort McHenry, and from her deck
the Americans watched the fight, oh, so anxiously! and though it was, as
I have said, over before midnight, those anxious watchers did not know
until morning how it had ended--whether by surrender of the fort, or the
abandonment on the part of the enemy of the attempt to take it. It was
with very anxious hearts they waited for the coming of the dawn, but at
last, in the dim light, as the day began to break, their eyes were
gladdened by the sight, through their glasses directed toward Fort
McHenry, of the beautiful stars and stripes 'still there,' and to their
great joy they soon learned that the attack on Baltimore had failed,
that Ross was killed, and the British were returning to their vessels.
"It was while pacing the deck during the bombardment, full of anxiety
for the result, that Mr. Key composed that song so dear to the American
heart, 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'"
"Oh, let us sing it!" exclaimed Lulu, and with one consent, patriotic
enthusiasm swelling in every breast, they did so, the voices of old and
young uniting in the soul-stirring words.
"Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming
And the rockets' red glare
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
"On that shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam
Of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines in the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner; oh, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
"And where are the foes who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war, and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps pollution;
No refuge could save
The hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
"Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must
When our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, 'In God is our trust';
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
A moment of silence followed the dying away of the last strains, then
Captain Raymond resumed his narrative:
"The first rough notes of the song were written by Key upon the back of
a letter he happened to have in his pocket, and after his arrival in
Baltimore he wrote it out in full. The next morning he read it to his
uncle, Judge Nicholson, one of the gallant defenders of the fort, asking
his opinion of it. The judge was delighted with it, took it to the
printing office of Captain Benjamin Edes, and directed copies to be
struck off in handbill form. That was done, the handbills were
distributed, and it was sung first in the street, in front of Edes'
office, by James Lawrenson, a lad but twelve years of age. That was on
the second day after the bombardment of Fort McHenry. The song was 'set
up,' printed, and distributed by another lad seventeen or eighteen years
old, named Samuel Sands. It created intense enthusiasm, was sung nightly
at the theater, and everywhere in public and private."
"Papa," asked Lulu, "what became of that very star-spangled banner Mr.
Key was looking for when he wrote the song?"
"I presume it is still in existence," replied her father. "Lossing says
it was shown him in Baltimore, during the Civil War, by Christopher
Hughes Armistead, the son of the gallant defender of the fort, and that
it had in it eleven holes made by the shot of the British during the
bombardment."
"Had not the British made very sure beforehand of being able to take
Baltimore, Captain?" asked Evelyn.
"Yes; and their intention was to make it the base for future operations.
As early as the 17th of June a London paper said, 'In the diplomatic
circles it is rumored that our naval and military commanders on the
American station have no power to conclude any armistice or suspension
of arms. They carry with them certain terms which will be offered to the
American government at the point of the bayonet. There is reason to
believe that America will be left in a much worse situation, as a naval
and commercial power, than she was at the commencement of the war."
"Ah, but they crowed too soon--before they were out of the woods,"
laughed Walter. "They needed the lesson they got at Baltimore, and the
one Jackson gave them some months later at New Orleans."