The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-07-04

know where to lind the fleet.
He set sail from Baltimore about the
third of September, and found the British
fleet at the mouth of the Patapsco bound
for the attack on Fort McHenry. He
went on board the vessel of Admiral Cock
burn, to whom he stated his errand, and
asked for the release of DIR. Beanes.
The admiral received him with the ut
most ciyility, but informed him that he
could not comply at present with his re-
quest, and was obliged even to detain Key
himself and his vessel until the operation
upon Fort McHenry was concluded.
The admiral's vessel being over crowded,
he sent the American gentlemen on board
the frigate Sunrise, commanded by his
son, Sir Thomas Cockburn, where they
spent the night, and thus moved on to the
attack
During the bombardment of the fort,
Mr.. Key and his friends, including DR..
Beanes, were sent on board their own little
vessel under a guard of marines, and thus
they were afforded an opportunity to wit
ness the action.
OF all the thousands of human beings
within hearing of that bombardment, there
was probably no one so fitted by nature
and education to be moved by it. Francis
S. Key, then thirty-fve years of age, a
lawyer in good standing at the distinguished
bar Of his native State, was son of John
Ross Key, an officer in the army of the
Revolution.
He had been noted from his youth up
for the ardor of his patriotism, and he had
attempted more than once to celebrate in
verse the gallant deeds of his countrymen.
He had habit of dashing down lines and
stanzas that occurred to him on any odd
scrap of paper that came first to his hand,
and several Of his poems were gathered up
by his friends from the litter of his Office
All day the bombardment continued
without cessation During the whole night
they remained on deck, following with
their eyes the continuous arcs of fire from
the enemy's ships to the fort
The anxiety of the poet and the little
company of Americans about him grew
only more intense when darkness covered
the scene, and they could form no concep-
ton of the progress or the probable issue
of the strife.
Suddenly, about three in the morning,
the firing ceased. As they were anchored
at some distance from the British vessels,
they were utterly at loss to interpret this
mysterious silence.
Had the fort surrendered?
As they walked up and down the deck
of their vessels in the darkness and silence
of the night, they kept going to the bin
nace to look at their watches to see how
many minutes more must elapse before
they could discern whether the flag over
Fort McHenry was the star-spangled ban
ner or the union jack of England
The daylight dawned at length. With
thrill of triumph and gratitude, they saw
that "our flag was still there" They soon
perceived from many other signs that the
attack, both by land and sea, had failed,
and that Baltimore was safe. They could
see with their glasses the wounded troops
carried on board the ships, and at last the
whole British army re-embarking.
A few minutes after the dawn of that
glorious day, when the poet first felt sure
of the issue of the battle, the impulse to
express his feelings in verse rushed upon
him. He found in his pocket letter, and
he wrote upon the back of it the first lines
of the song. In the excitement of the
hour he could not go on with his task, but
he wrote some further brief notes and lines
upon the letter.
Some lines he retained in his memory
without making any record of them.
When his guard of marines left him free
to hoist anchor and sail for the city, he
wrote out the song on the way, very nearly
as it now reads, and on reaching his hotel
in Baltimore he made clean copy of it.
The next morning he showed it to his
brother-in-law, Judge Nicholson, Chief
Justice Of Maryland, who, judge as he was,
had commanded company Of volunteers
in Fort McHenry during the lombard
ment
We may be sure that such judge read
the song with no critical eye. So delighted
was he with it that he sent it around to
printer, Benjamin Edes, who had also COM
manded a company of troops in the late
operations. An apprentice, Samuel Sands,
still living and editor of the Maryland
Farmer, instantly set it in type, and in
less than an hour it was distributed all over
the city of Baltimore, and received by
everyone with enthusiasm.
But what is a song without music? An
old Baltimore soldier told in after years
how the words came to be so happily
welded to the music 10 which it has ever
since been sung.
A group of volunteers lay scattered over
one of the green hills near Baltimore day
or two after the bombardment.
"Have you heard Francis S. Keys
poem ?" said a member of the company,
who had just come in from the town.
He took copy of it from his pocket,
and read it aloud to them as they lay upon
the grass. 1t was called for again. He
read it second time and a third, more
soldiers gathering about to hear it, until the
whole regiment seemed to be present,
An actor, named Ferdinand Durapg, who
was also soldier, sprang up, rushed into
tent, seized his brothers music book,
used by both Of them for their flutes, ex-
amined piece after piece, and at length
cried out
"Boys, have hit it,
He had selected the air of favorite old
English song called ITO Anacreon in Hea-
ven, written by John Stafford Smith,
about the year 1772 Itwas composed for
musical club which met at the Crown and
Anchor tavern in London, frequented by
DR.. johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds.
AS soon as Ferdinand Durapg had Sc
lected the music, he mounted stool and
sung it to his assembled comrades with all
the fire and spirit of which he was capable.
An eye witness says:
elbow the men shouted and clapped, for
never was there wedding of poetry to
music made under such inspiring influences
Getting brief furlow, the Brothers Durang
sang it in public soon after twas caught
up in the camps, and sung around the
bivouac fires, and whistled in the streets,
and when peace was declared, and we scat
tered to our homes, it was carried to thou
sands of firesides as the most precious relic
of the War of 1872"
The flag of Fort McHenry, which in
spired the song of Francis S. Key, still ex-
lists in tolerable state of preservation.