Item: The Star-Spangled Banner

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Record Number: 1097
Collection: Treasures Collection [HSP.Treasures]
Reproduction restrictions: None
Author: Francis Scott Key
View Format: Manuscripts
Image description:

Originally titled The Defense of Fort McHenry, The Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor.  The poem was later set to the tune of To Anacreon in Heaven and renamed The Star-Spangled BannerPresident Hoover signed a congressional resolution to officially designate it the National Anthem in 1931.

(1) is front of handwritten lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner; (2) is back of manuscript.