User Clip: By Dawn's Early Light - Fort McHenry

Star-Spangled Banner 200th AnniversaryFort McHenry hosted a ceremony honoring the 200th anniversary of of the Battle of Baltimore and the writing of the "Star-Spangled Banner." The ceremony inlcuded remarks by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and a flag-raising at the exact time that Francis Scott Key saw a large American flag hoisted above the fort, signaling that the garrison had survived an all-night bombardment by the British Navy. That moment on September 14, 1814, inspired Key to compose what would later become the U.S. national anthem. close