During the War of 1812 against Great Britain, American soldiers raised a gigantic American flag above Fort McHenry to celebrate their victory after withstanding 25 hours of bombardment. This event took place on September 14, 1814.

Francis Scott Key, a lawyer who was observing the conflict from a ship in Baltimore harbor, was inspired by this patriotic act and began writing a few verses. The lyrics, set to the melody of a drinking song, became very popular. However, the song would not officially become the American national anthem until a century later, in 1931.

The lyrics

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Source: Francis Scott Key’s manuscript in the Maryland Historical Society collection