Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-11-06
IT STILL WAVES
''O'er the Hearts of the Free and the
Homes of the Braye."

''O'er the Hearts of the Free and the
Homes of the Brave"
The flag that waved over Fort Nc
Henry during the bombardment on
the night Of the 18th of September,
1914, and whose broad stripes and
bright stars inspired Keys song, still
exists in a tolerable state Of preserva-
ton. 1t was. preserved by Colonel
George Armistead, the commandment of
the fort at the time of the attack on
Fort McHenry, Baltimore, and bears
upon one of its stripes, in his auto
graph, his name and the date of the
b~ombardment. 1t has always been re-
tanned in his family, and his widow in
1861 bequeathed it to their youngest
daughter, Georgiana Appleton, who,
some time after the bombardment, was
born in Fort McHenry under its folds.
Mrs. Appleton died in New York. July
20, 1878, and bequcathed the flag to her
son. Mr.. Eben Appleton, of Yonkers,
N: T., who now holds it as a precious
relic. 1t has been frequently displayed
at celebrations of the 18th and 18th of
September, and was notably used to
adorn Washington's war-tent, which
was raised at Fort McHenry September
IA. 1924, for the reception of General
Lafayette. 1t was again exhibited
along the streets of Baltimore during
our s.Sesqui-Centennial celebration by
the late William Carter.
Upon this occasion the late Mrs.
Margaret Sanderson, the wife of
Colonel Henry S. Sanderson. formerly
Sheriff and Collector of Baltimore,
who always prided herself on the part
she took in constructing the flag
that inspired Key to write our National
anthem, was induced by some of her
friends to visit her native city. She
arrived in Baltimore in time to witness
the grand display, but did not partici-
pate in it. While here she gave the
following history of the construction
of the flag: Mrs. Mary Pickcrsgill, who
was we'll known in Baltimore during
the wal of 1872 as an adept at flag and
banner making, was secured by Com
modore Barney, General Stricken,
General Mcdonald and otherprominent
men to make a new garrison flag for
Fort McHenry. A number of young
girls assisted in the work, and Mrs.
Sanderson, who was then between
thirteen and fourteen years of age, was
one of the party. The girls made
quite a frolic of it, and their young
hearts pulsed wildly for the safety Of
their beloved city and the honor Of the
volunteers and regulars who were to
defend the work of their delicate
fingers. Mrs. Sanderson remembered
perfectly we'll that her portion Of the
labor was to haste the stars on the blue
field.
The flag, when completed, was
hoisted on q high mast not far from
the bastion facing the Patapsco River,
in the "Star Fort" The late Mendez
1. Cohen, who was, perhaps, the last
survivor of Captain Nicholson's Com
pany of Fencibles, which mustered one
hundred and ten strong on the morn
ing of the bo~mbardmcnt in the fort,
said he had a distinct recollection that
n whole British bombshell passed
through the flag, and that it was torn
by several pieces of another shell. The
flag was originally about forty feet
long, but the shot of the enemy, time
and marauders have combined to d.
minish its length, until now it is only
thirty-feet long and t%wenty-nine hoist.
Its great width is due to its having fiji
teen instead of thirteen stripes. each
nea two feet wide. 1t has, or rather
had, fifteen five-pointed stars. each two
feet from point to point, and arranged
in five indcnted parallel lines, three
stars in each horizontal line. The
union rests in the ninth, which is a red
stripe, instead of the eighth, a white
stripe, as in our present flag. All the
flags worn by the navy and army dur
from 1894 to 1918, were SO arranged
Baltimore Sun.