Our National Anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, has been sacred to generations of Americans. That is because it is Francis Scott Key’s personal testimony of what he saw and felt on that early September morning. Some say the anthem is a dedication to the brutal conquest of war and in these enlightened times should be replaced. But they would be wrong. Because it is, in fact, an anthem of Christian thanksgiving for a Godly nation. It is presented in its entirety today, so that we too can feel those turbulent emotions of courage and thanksgiving. This is the meaning of the complete Star-Spangled Banner as Francis Scott Key wanted you to know it.
Historical Context
Two years into the drawn-out War of 1812, the British monarchy’s retribution had become intense as crops and livestock had been stolen or destroyed to create famine. Civil liberties, guaranteed to all British subjects, had been disregarded. Engines of military conquest were then unleashed upon a peaceful citizenry as the British expeditionary forces overcame one defensive skirmish after another. In the fall of 1814, British General Robert Ross landed 4500 veteran British troops at Benedict Island, Maryland with orders to march upon the unprepared defenses of Washington DC. Raiding the White house, President and Mrs. Madison barely escape with not a single moment to spare. The nation’s capital is ransacked and burned. Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Rappahannock river from the capital and the 2nd busiest seaport of the new nation is raided and occupied. General Ross now turns his focus to the last and most important trade port, Baltimore. As British land forces cut-off escape to the north, a fleet of British frigates breaks the tenuous American blockade of the Chesapeake Bay and takes station, broad-side at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor- where the Chesapeake Bay bridge once stood. The Americans and British both understood what is at stake. If Fort McHenry falls, the loss of Baltimore would deliver an economic blow that would end the new republic. Surely, awareness of the dire circumstance ran through the mind of the young lawyer, Francis Scott Key, as he
Boarded a British prison ship to negotiate the exchange between British and American soldiers. However, the afternoon’s negotiations never began, as the shelling of Fort McHenry commences unannounced. It is no small matter, as the captain of the ship announces that he is now considered, for the time, a prisoner on deck surrounded by vengeful enemies. For he and his fellow patriots have been labelled EXTREMISTS, the most dangerous faction to the authority of the illegitimate crown – by royal decree to be given no mercy, and no quarter.
The relentless bombardment continues in total darkness. The random flashes of explosions momentarily reveal who controls the fort up to that moment. The very large stars and stripes remains flying. However, as the momentary flashes fade to darkness, returns the uncertainty of battle. In the custody of the foe that now surrounds him on deck, Francis Scott Key, eager to know the outcome of the battle, implores the enemy British lookout who apparently gives him no head.
Please, allow me to slightly paraphrase Key’s poetic verses to place you on the deck next to the patriot lawyer – to see what he sees; to hear what he hears, and to experience the emotions he feels. He pens the first familiar verse –
The bombardment tails off late into the night. In the pre-dawn morning, all is silent after the relentless bombardment. The only sound to be heard is the lapping of water against the creaking hulls of the British fleet. The land is a dark, featureless silhouette with a faint ribbon of orange sky to the east- just behind Francis Key’s right shoulder. Between the ship and the shore is the familiar early morning mist of the Chesapeake Bay which shrouds all features. Straining to see through the mist and haze, the calm is stirred by the faintest of a morning breeze. As if gently pushed along, the patches of fog begin to disburse. This is the moment the lawyer-patriot has waited for. As the first rays of the sun break over the eastern horizon tree line, he identifies, first, the dark hulk of the rampart and then the towering flag. Listen to how the moment impacts the observer - standing on the deck among his foes - as they both peer intently to discern the destiny of a nation for entirely different reasons.
The flag, enduring the relentless bombardment, catches the first morning light spreading across the wooded hill tops toward the fort. It still flies! You can almost feel the author take a deep breath- overwhelmed by the ramification of what he now comprehends. That the terror of the cold, merciless tyrant is now to be vanquished from his beloved land - no longer capable of stealing home and country. Read now those verses.
But the previous stanza is just the immediate tangibles of thanksgiving of life and family. It is the last stanza (never sung) that is one of the most emotional declarations of thanksgiving in western literature. Free men, in just cause, must stand in the gap to protect their families- even when there are no others beside him. As free men, it is our calling for such a times as this, just as it has been for each previous American generation. Take heart, says Mr. Key. It is never in vain. For the strength they depend upon in such times is not in the arms you bare, nor in the courage you possess, but in God himself. Listen now to the author as he pens for us, what he thinks are the poem’s most important verses.
Conclusion
Today, by not singing the last stanza, we miss the most important message that Francis Scott Key has for us. The final stanza makes the national anthem like no other. It does not declare fidelity to a ruler, or even loyalty to a government or mother land. It is an anthem dedicated to the preservation of free men and women everywhere. It reminds them that even in their darkest hour their reliance on a sovereign God to prevail is never in vain. Francis Scott Key’s verses declare nothing less than the difference between free and subjugated mankind. It is a message that tells the story of resilience, hope, and the thanksgiving for God’s assured providence toward a Christian nation. A message that is meant for us today, just as it was then. That, my beloved countrymen, is the true message of the Star Spangles Banner – a national anthem like no other.
Till next time, happy 249th Birthday America.
May God and liberty bless.