The Star Spangled Banner, was written on the morning of September 14, 1812, by Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Georgetown, after witnessing the Battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. The first verse of the poem, which is now the American National Anthem, described what Scott saw from the America truce ship he stayed on in Baltimore harbour during the battle.
O say can you see, by the dawns early light
What so proudly we hail’d, at the twighlight’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 rockets red glare, the bombs 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
The song with words used today would be:
Can you see, by the morning’s light
What so proudly we respected last night
Who’s wide stripes and bright stars,during the violent battle
Over the fortress walls we watched, were bravely waving
And the rockets red flashes, the bombs explosions in the sky
Showed us that our flag was still there
Does that American flag still fly
Above the United States
These were the sights that Francis Scott Key saw when the battle ended.
