The Star Spangled Spectacular part 1

As children we are taught to sing the very challenging melody and oddly poetic words of our national anthem. "Oh say can you see?" Yes, we learn that it was written by Francis Scott Key, and yes we knew he was looking out onto some harbor where the 'bombs were bursting in air'. But what war, and who was fighting, and where- now that was something I never got straight.

How startling to learn that right in my own backyard, to the east of the tunnel that I drive through on my way to Silver Spring and back again, was the Fort where the battle was fought fiercely in a war that is rarely discussed. It was at Ft. McHenry, in defense of Baltimore, the 3rd largest city in the US, that 1200 soldiers fought off the most powerful navy in the world-the British. The war was eventually called The War of 1812 and in 1814, the British bombarded this entrance to Baltimore for 25 hours.
As it turns out Francis Scott Key was being held in detention, where he watched the 19th C. version of 'Shock and Awe',  where as part of the tension that  mounted overnight,   'o'r the ramparts watched', then saw 'that our flag was still there'. He chose to couple his soaring words with a melody that was well known because it was a drinking song written for the Anacreonitic Socity,    "an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven 
Surprisingly, the song became an instant hit throughout the states, renamed on the advice of his uncle, from "The Battle of Fort McHenry" to "The Star Spangled Banner".

And so we, on Sept 13 2014  exactly 200 years later, walk around Ft. McHenry, listening to music from then and now that includes the Washington Revels, and a Navy rock band. Then we  stroll to the waters edge to view the Blue Angels air show, whose pilots in the sleek jets weave across the sky at 600 miles an hour. But the star of the day is the fort and the flag. How joyous to arrive inside the fort just as the enthusiastic ranger lowers the small flag, then instructs a group of 20 or so on folding it.  Out then comes the replica of the flag that is to be flown later that night. As we hold it, unfurl it, and put it back safely, I feel a surge of pride.

The uniforms of this era are more tailored and fay compared to those just 40 years later. The men's hats of no practical use, the long waistcoats as well. My brother asks one of the 'soldiers' about the functionality of the hats to which we are treated to a personal tour of the officers' quarters room, where he shares  how he learned that his relative had served at Ft. McHenry.