ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Schoolchildren and state lawmakers alike waited their turn to peer into a secure glass container holding a piece of paper more than 200 years old.
That paper is the original manuscript of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that was penned - likely with a quill - in 1814 by Francis Scott Key as he watched the Battle of Baltimore unfold before his eyes. The poem, originally titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” was on display at the State House for one day only on March 3 to celebrate the poem’s 89th anniversary as America’s National Anthem.
“There’s something special about seeing a primary source like that,” said Allison Tolman, the Maryland Historical Society vice president of collections.
Key’s poem is suspended on a cushion of nitrogen inside a thick case surrounded by panes of glass.
Kids pressed their faces to the glass and took a quick glance at the enclosed handwritten manuscript, while adults whipped out phones and snapped photos of the centuries-old chronicle.
“It has been part of the American lexicon for over 200 years,” said Mark Letzer, president and CEO of Maryland Historical Society. “I would say it’s probably one of the most important pieces of paper that’s ever been written in American history.”
Although the poem has the embattled look of an elder document, Key’s looped letters, scratched out words and precise penmanship still read clear in 2020. That’s thanks to the efforts the Maryland Historic Society dedicates to preserving historical documents from the state, its staffers say.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was written in 1814 and became the nation’s anthem in 1931. It normally resides in a vault at the historical society’s Baltimore headquarters. To prevent light from damaging it, the paper is only removed from storage once a year. The document is rarely shown to the public at all.
March 3 marked the third time the manuscript has ever been out for public display. It’s previously been shown in Frederick and Washington, D.C.
“Our goal is to get it out to the people of Maryland,” Letzer said. “It’s important just to get it here.”
Security was tight on the trip from Baltimore to prevent any heists inspired by “National Treasure,” a movie starring Nicholas Cage as a historian who steals the Declaration of Independence. The manuscript was transported by handlers in a private, climate-controlled vehicle with staff supervision and security detail.
“We try to treat all of our documents equally. They’re just rare, irreplaceable pieces of history,” Letzer said.
For one day, the “Star-Spangled Banner” was placed next to the letter George Washington delivered resigning his commission as commander of the Continental Army before Congress meeting in Annapolis 1783. It’s the first time these documents, national touchstones considered Maryland’s most important documents, have been displayed together.
The union is meant to signify the bookends of the American Revolution and independence, historians say. Washington’s resignation represents the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, while the “Star-Spangled Banner” is a reminder of the War of 1812 and the nation’s ability to defend its freedom.
The “Star-Spangled Banner” was written as a poem originally titled the “Defence of Fort McHenry.” It was attached to a song based on an old drinking tune called “The Anacreon in Heaven” sung at 18th-century British gentlemen’s clubs.
Dressed in a top hat, waistcoat and cravat neckcloth, Francis Scott Key - played by historical actor Fred Taylor - recited the lines of the famous poem to an eager audience Tuesday. Key was born in Frederick, Maryland, went to St. John’s College and married an Annapolis girl named Mary Tayloe Lloyd.
He became an extremely successful lawyer and a U.S. District Attorney for Washington, D.C. Key was asked by his friend President James Madison to negotiate the release of William Beanes, who was taken as a prisoner of war when the British invaded the Chesapeake Bay in 1814, Taylor said.
Key traveled to Baltimore and secured the release of his friend but was not allowed to leave British custody during the attack on Baltimore. Key watched aboard a Royal Navy ship off Fort McHenry as the American flag could be seen against a background of bursting bombs and fired rockets. Inspired, Key wrote the poem right then and there.
The poem reached immediate popularity and within weeks was put to music, historians said. Its name changed to the “Star-Spangled Banner” and on March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover made it the nation’s official anthem.
The poem might not come out of its vault again for many years, Letzer said.
“This is a very rare, rare moment,” Letzer said.
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