Page Title: The Star Spangled Banner
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The Star Spangled Banner flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland while it was being bombed by a British Fleet during the War of 1812. It is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words which would become our beloved national anthem. The flag, the anthem and the historical event they describe tell the story of Americans sticking together under siege. The original flag is clearly an American treasure and one the most important historic relics of the American people. It is housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. In a sense, we Americans, The flag and The Anthem are all English. The original flag is made of English wool. The Anthem is set to an English tune. In declaring their independence from dear old Mother England, our founders were not inventing liberty. They were defending their centuries old English liberty and civil rights which were their birth rights as free Englishmen. |
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Look at this utterly beautiful heavy cotton Star Spangled Banner flag with embroidered stars, heavy canvas heading and brass grommets Cotton Star Spangled Banner Flag 3x5' $75.00 #H63CS
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 Four rows of stitching in the fly end Cotton flags are heavy. If you are putting them in a front porch type setting, you should probably have a 1" pole, not the common 3/4". |
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 Heavy embroidered stars Traditional subdued warm cotton colors
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 Star Spangled Banner 4x6" Desk Flag on a 10" Staff |
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Nylon Star Spangled
Banner Flags: Nylon flags will fly better than heavy cotton and are
generally considered a longer lasting outdoor fabric. They have brighter
more modern looking colors. Their lighter weight also puts less stress on
your hardware.
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Why are the stars crooked? By the way, notice the peculiar star pattern. The stars are not arranged straight up and down. That is the famous "dancing star pattern" seen in the original Star Spangled Banner flown over Ft. McHenry. Back then the American flag's star pattern was not standardized and it appeared in many variations based on the whim of different flag makers. You can see the real Star Spangled Banner at The Smithsonian Institution Web Site: "The Star-Spangled Banner was made under government contract in the summer of 1813 by a professional Baltimore flag maker, Mary Pickersgill. Assisted by her 13-year old daughter, Caroline, and by two of her nieces, Eliza and Margaret Young, Mary may also have received help from her mother, Rebecca Young, who was a flag maker as well. To assemble the unusually large flag, Pickersgill laid it out on the floor of a neighboring brewery. She used English woolen bunting for the stripes and the union and cotton for the stars." The original Star Spangled Banner was 30x42' Francis Scott Key's original poem would later be set to the old English drinking song to become our National Anthem Complete version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" showing
spelling and punctuation from Francis Scott Key's manuscript in the
Maryland Historical Society collection:
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