The end of The War of 1812 inspired the writing of the poem later made into “The Star-Spangled Banner.” During the Battle of Fort McHenry in 1814, the British fleet of 19 ships launched a full-out assault on 1,000 U.S. troops, unleashing bombs that were “bursting in air.” The flag fragments shown here, which reside at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, were cut from “the flag that was still there.” Francis Scott Key immortalized the battle, and his ode of course, later put to music, became our national anthem.
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