The Star-Spangled Banner

Fireworks remind me of the “Star Spangled Banner” – “And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.” In September 1814, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner, with the approval of President James Madison, sought to secure the exchange of prisoners, especially Dr. William Beanes, a popular physician who was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner spoke with Major General Robert Ross and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner aboard the British flagship HMS Tonnant. Although the British agreed to the exchange, Key and Skinner were held captive until after the bombardment of Fort McHenry. Key witnessed the barrage of rockets during the night and feared the embattled fort would have to surrender. On the morning of September 14, the larger flag known as the “Star-Spangled Banner” still flew. Key penned his poem on the back of a letter he had been carrying and called it, “Defense of Fort McHenry.” The last stanza of the poem, which is relatively unmentioned, reads:

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Notice the connection—free men—heaven’s rescued land—in God we trust—our flag represents freedom because of the brave. Freedom and God go hand in hand. No God; no freedom. The flag reminds us of this. Destroy the flag; obliterate the memory of the True Rescuer.