The National Anthem

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some ideas for , because at times in the battle he could not see the American flag through the mist, and drizzle, even though the night was lit by ‘the bombs bursting in air.’ In the morning to his relief, Key saw that the American flag was still flying above Fort McHenry. He took out a letter that he had in his pocket to write down the ideas that came to him that night. Later he rewrote the poem and some people seemed to think that he wrote it to the tune “To Anacreon in Heaven,” or “Adams and Liberty,” which were patriotic songs of that time in history (Schwalbe).
On September 15 he took his writing to some friends who had it printed immediately, but at that time the title of it was “The Defense of Fort McHenry,” because of the time in which it was written. By the end of the year the title was changed to “The Star Spangled Banner.” The person that receives credit for being the first to sing it is an actor, Ferdinand Durang. He first sang it on a Baltimore stage later that same ...

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