The Star Spangled Banner by John Stafford Smith and Francis Scott Key

The national anthem of the United States began as a tune written for an amateur musician&club in England in the mid 1700&Its lyrics came from a poem written by Francis Scott Key, a lawyer sent to negotiate for the release of an American prisoner during the War of 1812. Key was detained overnight aboard a British Naval vessel in the Chesapeake, in full view of Fort McHenry as it was attacked by some 1500 bombshells and rockets. The outcome of the battle was revealed at dawn when Key witnessed the hoisting of the largest flag ever flown (30&x 42&signaling the defensive victory and inspiring his poem, "Defense of Fort M&The poem was set to Smith&popular tune, and the resulting Star Spangled Banner became our official national anthem by an Act of Congress in 1931.