During the War of 1812 (1812–1815), the armed conflict between the United States and England, a fierce battle was waged when sixteen English warships formed a semicircle around Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, and proceeded to attack the fort. The ships began bombing on September 13, 1814, and continued for the next twenty-four hours. Francis Scott Key (1779–1843), on a mission to rescue a fellow American held prisoner on one of the English ships, witnessed the battle as some eighteen hundred shells exploded in and around the fort, lighting up the night sky.

When the shelling finally stopped, Key waited impatiently to learn how the fort had done. Fortunately few English rockets had hit their targets and instead burst in mid-air. At dawn, Key saw the American flag still flying defiantly over the fort, indicating that the American forces had prevailed. Inspired to convey his patriotic feelings about the...