The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1876-10-26
HOW ''THE STAR-SPANGLED BAN
NER FOUND ITS TUNE.

Mrs. Nellie Eyster, lady now re-
siding in San Francisco, contributes
for the readers of the Chronicle the
following historical reminiscence ap-
propriate to the anniversary of the
attack on Baltimore by British feet,
and the repulse of the expedition of
Fort McHenry, which occurred Sep
tember 13, 1912. The patriotic ma
tional song, "The Star-Spangled Ban
ner," by Francis S. Key, has immor-
taiized the event, and the circum-
stances under which it was written
and set to music, given below, and
some of which have never before
been published, will be read with in
terest:
Thousands have sung the grand old
chorus of our American Marseillais this
Centennial year, and young untried hearts
have thrObbed almost to bursting with the
patriotic fervor inspired by the words of
Francis Keys immortal poem who knew
but little of the vivid scenes during which
it had its birth, and still less of the we'd
ding of the tune to its soul stirring words.
Among the boarded relics of my grand
father, an old Maryland gentleman, is
yellow, faded letter, written upon very
coarse paper, and in such a scrambling
hand that the words are hardly legible. 1t
bears the date of September 16, 1912, Ft.
McHenry, and reads in part thus:
DEAR MARGERY:-1 may not be first to
tell you the news, but it will bear repeat
ing: Cockburn's fleet have dropped down
thn H., D.lt g
have had hot work, and the havoc has
been dreadful, but all danger from British
invasion is now over, and pray Col fOrev
er. lam well except Below
are the words of poem which Frank Key
gave me; and which he composed during
the awful night of the 18th, while pris-
oner on one of Cockburn's vessels. He
had gone on board protected by Il flag Of
truce, to effect the release of some of his
friends who were held captive in it, and
was not allowed to return. So he witness
ed-which | did nut-the entire bombarO-
ment, aud told me he dashed off the poem
in a red hot frenzy of anxiety. 1t will be
printed in the Gazette as soon as possible,
and deserves to live as long as we have u
flag. Here follows the copy from the
original manuscript, verbatim, us it now
reads to-day
A citizen of the same old town of
Frederick, Maryland (sixty miles
west of Baltimorc). neighbor and
political friend of Mr.. Key, 1t is no
wonder that my grandfather, then
stationed with his company in the
fort, should have taken time to copy
for my grandmother the remarkable
lines whose full significance she, as
well as he, could so thoroughly ap-
preciatc. He, with a thousand other
men, were garrisoning Fort McHen-
ry, about two miles from the center
of Baltimore city. The British feet
were anchored Il couple of miles from
the fort, and beyond the reach Of it's
guns. Having failed to take the
city by land, they hoped an attack
by water would be more successful.
So, as soon us night came, they be-
gan their work. There was Just one
continuous shower of shells, which
the garrison received i'll silence.
During the night several vessels, with
fourteen hundred British troops, sup
piled with scaling ladders, entered
the Patapsco, passed by the forts,
never dreaming of resistance from it.
Already, in imagination, they were
plundering the captured city, when
suddenly, as they drew opposite the
six-gun battery, its commander,
Lieutenant Webster, opened upon
them with terrible effect. The forts
and ten-gun battery also poured in
their fire, and for two hours a furi-
Gus cannonade was kept up. 1t was
a fearful sight. The heavens were
lit with the fiery tracks of the bombs
from the fleet, and the unceasing
booming echoed across the water and
along the shores of the bay like one
uninterrupted peal of thunder One
of the barges was sunk, and the rest
retreated in the utmost confusion. In
the stern of the vessel whose win
dows commanded a full view of
Chesapeake Bay and the fort, stood
Francis Key and his imprisoned
friends, watching with profound in
terest the fate of that flag, which,
through the evenings twilight, was
seen floating from the ramparts of
Fort McHenry. They could see the
flashing of the guns and the red
glare of the flying rockets, but the
fate of their beloved flag was wrap
ped in profound uncertainty. At
length the struggle ceased, but who
were the victors? AS the gray dawn
rendered objects visible, how eager
their strained gaze to see what crown
ed the tower of the fort. Through
the "mists of the deep" they could
discern flag; but what were its col
ors? A while longer they waited in
breathless silence, when suddeN y, by
the first rays of the morning sun,
they discovered that it bore upon it's
gorgeous folds the stars and stripes.
Then, with throe of joy so intense
it was almost pain, were born the
lines
"'Tis the Star Spangled Banner Oh long may
itwaVe,
Der the land of the free and the home of the
brave"
Meanwhile in the northeastern
part of the city Of Baltimore, upon a
broad elevation known as Gallows
Hill, lay an encampment Of militia
comnriSinp men from Pennsylvania