The Star-Spangled Banner Flag-- Part 4: 25-Hour Bombardment and Gifted to the Smithsonian

The British fleet bombarded Fort McHenry for 25 hours between September 13-14, 1814.  When they were unable to force the fort to surrender, the attack ended and they sailed off.  The flag was still flying.

This so impressed Francis Scott Key that he wrote his famous poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry."  This became the "Star-Spangled Banner" that we know today.

The flag that flew there at the end of the bombardment became a significant artifact, yet remained in the possession of Major Armistead and later, his family.  He was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel for his action.

Eben Appleton, his grandson, inherited the flag in 1878.  In 1907, he loaned it to the Smithsonian Institution and in 1912 made it a formal gift.

--Brock-Perry