07/02/2026
Every American should know this story about Old Glory. In 1814, the British had Fort McHenry nearly surrounded.
If the fort surrendered, it would be the end of the United States as we know it.
A young lawyer watched the battle from a nearby ship in the harbor as the British attacked. He wrote a poem in his journal to remember what he saw that night.
The British relentlessly bombed the fort all night and into the morning.
Historians estimate 1,800 shells fell on Fort McHenry that night.
No one had ever seen anything like it.
The explosions were heard all the way in Philadelphia, over 100 miles away.
The young lawyer furiously scribbled notes into his journal.
He didn't want history to forget what he was witnessing.
Everyone expected the Americans to surrender, if any of them were still alive.
No one anticipated what happened next.
The vivid bursts of light caused by the explosions allowed the young lawyer to see something so surprising he assumed it had to be a mistake.
The Americans had indeed taken down their flag. But they hadn't raised a white flag to formally surrender.
Instead, that morning, they raised an even larger American flag, called a garrison flag. It was THIRTY FEET TALL and FORTY TWO FEET LONG.
Raising this absolutely massive flag was the equivalent of giving a middle finger to the British Navy. As if to say, "is that all you've got?"
They refused to surrender.
The poem he wrote that night was eventually turned into a song.
His name was Francis Scott Key, and the song became known as the "Star Spangled Banner."
