Graham guardian., 1895-11-01
A SACRED BANNER.
The Flag Which Inspired the.
National Anthem.
1t Waved Over Fort arHenry when the
British Fleet Asssred lt-How tho
Flag Was Protected by a
Gallant American.

but sure ravages of time, the Star
| Spangled Banner is laid away by its
| owner until such time as may seem
proper to deliver it into the careful
hands. 1t is so called because IL was
the standard which 1oated over Fort
Mclenry at the time of its successful
defense against the British. defense
that inspired Francis Scott Key to
write our national ode.
This was the greatest of all naval
victories won in 1Sl2-lsl4, because it
saved the entire Atlantic seaboartt
| from further invasion by the enemy.
The conditions also were unu 3uel.
The fort was not bomb-proof It's COM
mander, Lieut. Col. George Arn1istead,
had received orders to surrender the
fortress from his superior, who con sid
cred it unable to make successful re-
sistance. But Armistead was stirred
to make brave effort for its defense.
He paid no attention to this order, and
defended the fort to the best OF his
ability, knowing that if he failed
court-martial stared him in the face.
and he gained remarkable victory
Lieut. Col. George Arnistead was
born in Newmarket Carolina county,
Va, on April 10, 1850. He was one OF
five brothers, all of whom served with
distinction in the war OF 1872, three
being in the regular army and two in
the militia. One of his brothers was a
first graduate of West Point. aud his
full length picture is to be seen there
to-day in the library in the grounds
He came from patriotic stock of an
ccstors, his great-great-grandfa
having been member of the house of
burgesses and of the council of states
On his mothers side Armistead was
descended from Col. John Taylor, who
was with Washington at Winchester.
Col George Armistead was distin-
guished for his gallantry at the capt
ure of Fort George, and was brevetted
lieutenant colonel at this time. A
little over a year afterward fresh
from this victory, he was placed in
command of Fort McHenry. Here he
was destined to meet men whose COM
manding officer had gained his epau--
let's in the service of the greatest gem
eral of that age-the duke of Yelling
ton. Sir Alexander Cochran, in his
dispatch to the secretary of the admi-
ralty, dated September II, 1914, says:
$50 soon as the army moved forward
l hoisted my flag on the Surprise. and
with the remainder of the frigates,
bomb-sloops and the rocket ship passed
further up the river. At daybreak
next morning-the 13th--the bombs
having taken their stations within
shell range, supported by the Surprise.
with the other frigates and sloons,r
opened slaei~-f upon the frsO .n@
protected the harbor" Admiral niv
ander Cochran was in and Gins
ROYAL Oak while ms son. S&szkI -
co5,,,... asssrmanded the Surprise. to-
which the admiral C,sl11-sss'S- -
in going up the Batapsco river,
Francis Scott Key and his friend, Mr.
Skinner, were on board tns surprise
until shortly after the battle, when
they were transferred to their OWN
vessel, in which they had set sail from
Baltimore. Here they remained with
their own private sailors and detach-
ment of marines from the Surprise as
guard. 1t was at this time on his own
vessel that Francis Scott Key wrote
the 'Star Spangled Banner" and not
on the Mindon, as is generally sup
posed. Judge Taney received this
statement from Keys own lips, who
told him that he had written his poem
in a moment of excitement, when the
enemy was retreating to their ships.
The weeks following this great vie-
tory were very proud ones to the Balti-
moreans, for though at the lombard
ment were troops from Pennsylvania
and Virginia, the great burden of the
engagement was borne by Baltimore
men. The strain, however, of that
great fight, and the dreadful RESPONSE
bility of the occasion, were too much
for Col. Armistead. 1t left him with
an affection of the heart from which
he died four years later, in his adopted
city, Baltimore. He knew, even alter
the victory was gained, that some en-
emy might press against him the
charge of disobedience to his superior
officer, and if this had been done it,
might have led to other complication,
but as nothing succeeds like success,
everything was forgotten in general
rejoicing.
The flag was presented to Lieut.. COL
George Armistead by the government
1t bears upon one of its stripes his
name and the date of the lombard
ment in his own handwriting. At his
death he bequeathed it to his widow,
who left it 10 her daughter, Mrs. Will
liam Stuart Appleton. When Mrs Ap-
pleton died it was bequeathed to her
son, in whose possession it now is.
The banner is thirty-two feet long
by twenty-nine feet wide. In all prob
ability it was originally forty feet long,
and its great width is due to the fact
of its having fifteen stripes instead of
thirteen. In color it is almost as
bright as it was some eighty-four years
ago, but the bunting has become very
worn, and some twenty years since it
was stitched on canvas to insure it's
preservation. 1t will be observed that
there is one large hole it, where q
bombshell passed through it, and it is
torn in other places by fragments OF
she'll.
1t will also be noticed that there is
quite large piece out of one corner.
as if cut. This, believe, really was
done, as remember hearing from my
mother that a brave soldier, who had
served under her father, on his death
bed wrote and requested Mrs Armi-
stead to let him have piece to wrap
around his dead body. The request
was complied with, but it can be read
n. a a