![]() FRANCIS SCOTT KEY
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In 1813 the commander of Ft. McHenry asked for a flag so big that "the British have no trouble seeing it from a distance." He asked Mary Young Pickersgill to make the flag for him. Her thirteen year old daughter helped her. She used 400 yards of fine wool. They cut 15 stars that were two feet across. There were
8 red and 7 white stripes. The stripes were each two feet wide. When it was finished it measured 30 by 42 feet and cost $405.90.
During this time Francis Scott Key was a lawyer in Georgetown, just a few miles from Washington D.C. He and his wife Mary had 6 sons and 5 daughters.
In 1814, the British captured Washington and set the Capitol on fire. President James Madison and his wife Dolley had to leave the White House and run to a safer place.
After this attack, the Americans knew that Baltimore would be attacked next. The British had captured Mr. Key's friend. His name was William Beanes and he was a doctor. Key and another man set out to try to save Dr. Beanes' life. They told the British the doctor had helped to save British soldiers who had been wounded. They agreed to free him, but they wouldn't let them leave because the three men had overheard the British making plans to attack. So they were placed under guard on a British ship.
It was from this ship Francis Scott Key watched the bombing of Ft. McHenry. There was a lot of smoke and haze, but when daylight came, he could see the flag was still waving.
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Original at Library of CongressHe was so inspired he began to write a poem on the back of a letter he had in his pocket. He later finished the poem and showed it to his brother-in-law who took it to a printer and had copies made of it. Two of these copies survive today.
Newspapers started printing it and people began singing it to a familiar tune.
The Star Spangled Banner was adopted as our national anthem on March 3, 1931.
The flag which flew over Ft. McHenry is now at the Smithsonian in the Museum of American History. The flag is very fragile and they keep a curtain in front of it to protect it from the light and dust. They show the flag for a few moments once every hour when the museum is open to the public.
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See
The flag that Francis Scott Key saw
now at the Smithsonian
Fort McHenry
national monument
Story of Francis Scott Key
The Star Spangled Banner
the text as originally written and changes to it
Poems of Francis Scott Key
Another story of the flag
The Star Spangled Banner (Beautiful Feet Books)
By Beautiful Feet Books
This beautifully illustrated book contains the lyrics to the "Star Spangled Banner." Softcover.
Our Country, Intermediate Thematic Unit
By Homeschool / Teacher Created Resources
Our Country is a thematic literature unit which gives students the opportunity to learn more about America's presidents, national symbols, and historical monuments. Within these 80 pages, teachers will find lesson ideas and reproducible pages designed to use with intermediate-aged students. Four high quality nonfiction picture books-So You Want to Be President?, Eyewitness: Presidents, Uncle Sam and Old Glory, and A is for America-provide the basis for these materials. Teachers wil find introductory and supplemental activities that encourage and extend the reading of each title. Additional activities provide curriculum connections to language arts, math, science, social studies, art, music, and life skills. The unit ends with bulletin board ideas and culminating activities.
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Francis Scott Key Word Search
Francis Scott Key Crossword Puzzle
Francis Scott Key - Word Scramble
Online Crossword Puzzle
Online Word Search
Francis Scott Key Study Sheet
Worksheet
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Work a Jigsaw Puzzle
From Word Central's Student Dictionary
by Merriam - Webster
(Pronunciation note: the schwa sound is shown by &)
capitol
Pronunciation: 'kap-&t-&l, 'kap-t&l
Function: noun
: the building in which a state legislature meets...
inspired, inspire
Pronunciation: in-'spI(&)r
Function: verb
...: to cause to have a particular thought or feeling
(a childhood that inspired her with a desire for education) ...
anthem
Pronunciation: 'an(t)-th&m
Function: noun
1 : a sacred composition with words usually from the Scriptures
2 : a song of praise or gladness
fragile
Pronunciation: 'fraj-&l, -"Il
Function: adjective
: easily broken or destroyed : delicate...
Biographies in this Series
Presidents of the
United StatesGeorge Washington
1st U.S. President
John Adams
2nd U.S. President
Thomas Jefferson
3rd U.S.President
James Monroe
5th U.S. President
Andrew Jackson
7th U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln
16th U.S.President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd U.S. President
John F. Kennedy
35th U.S. President
James Madison
4th U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt
26th U.S. President
American Patriots Benjamin Franklin
patriot and statesman
Francis Scott Key
Star Spangled Banner
Deborah Sampson
woman soldier
in the Revolutionary War
World Leaders Constantine
Roman Emperor
Alexander the Great
conqueror
Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister
Inventors Alexander Graham Bell
telephone
Johann Gutenberg
printing press
Cyrus McCormick
mechanical reaper
The Wright Brothers
first airplane
Henry Ford
Automaker
Thomas A. Edison
electric light bulb
Sequoyah
Cherokee alphabet
Nikola Tesla
700 patents
. Explorers Christopher Columbus
explorer
Meriwether Lewis
explorer
Robert Peary
Arctic explorer
John Muir
Naturalist
Matthew Henson
Arctic Explorer
Sir Edmund Hillary
Mr.Everest
Kit Carson
Indian agent
"Johnny Appleseed"
orchardist
. Women who made
a differenceClara Barton
founder of the Red Cross
Helen Keller
overcame blindness & deafness
Florence Nightingale
founder of
nursing profession
Joan of Arc
religious and military leader
Amelia Earhart
Aviator
Annie Oakley
sharpshooter
Susan B. Anthony
Suffragette
Elizabeth Keckly
Seamstress
Harriet Tubman
deliverer of slaves
Anne Frank
Diarist
Eleanor Roosevelt
Humanitarian
. Scientists George Washington Carver
botanist and educator
Sir Isaac Newton
explained gravity and
properties of light
Marie Curie
scientist, physicist
Louis Pasteur
Biologist
Albert Einstein
physicist, genius
Galileo
Astronomer, physicist
Educators Noah Webster
writer of dictionary
Booker T. Washington
leader and educator
Aristotle
Greek philosopher
Physicians Hippocrates
father of medicine
Walter Reed
discovered cause of yellow fever
Albert Schweitzer
humanitarian
Religious Leaders Increase Mather
Salem witch trials
. Athletes Lou Gehrig
baseball player
Wilma Rudolph
Olympic gold medal winner
Tiger Woods
golfer
Civil Rights
LeadersMartin Luther King
civil rights leader
Rosa Parks
bus desegregation
Sojourner Truth
Former slave
Frederick Douglass
Abolitionist
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
Civil rights leader
James Forten
Inventor, abolitionist
Composers Beethoven
composer
Artists John James Audubon
artist and naturalist
Gutzon Borglum
sculptor, Mount Rushmore
Ansel Adams
photographer
Home
Back to Famous Leaders
The picture on this page may be used without permission.
It is in the public domain and can be found at the Library of Congress.
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