The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-22

] written itself out of the circumstances
| that surrounded the writer It was a
literal photograph in verse of the scene
in which his eyes We're looking as he
penned its immortal lines.
The story of its production is as ro-
mantle as anything in the history of
war literature. Francis Scott Key, the
son of John Ross Key, a revolutionary
officer, had gone on board the British
ad)niraIs flagship, the Surprise. in
Chesapeake Bay, under a flag of truce,
in order to try and save a friend, DR..
Beanes, on September 10, 1874 The
British fleet, under Admiral Cockburn,
began the bombardment of the Balti-
more forts on that day, and he declined
to allow Key to depart. The lombard
ment went on far into the night, and
when the morning came, young Key
strained his eyes to see whether Fort
McHenry had been surrendered. Sud
denly a rift appeared in the smoke and
mist enveloping the fort, and through
it Key saw that the flag was still wav-
ing over it. Instantly the great song
was born. He sat right down on the
deck of the British admiral's flagship
and began writing:
oh say, can you see by the dawn's early
light,
What so proudly we haiTd at the twi-
lights last cleaning.
The song became Immediately popu-
lar, and within a week was being sung
in all the American camps, and at
the theaters as well. Key wrote many
other poems, and they were published
in a volume in 1856, Is years after his
death. He was "a years oS age when
he wrote The Star Spangled Banner"
and though all his other verses are for
gotten, this one will keep his memory
green as long as our republic lasts. He
was buried in the little cemetery at
Frederick, Md. and a star-sDangled
banner is appropriately kept waving
over his grave all the year round; as
fast as one flag fades, it is replaced by
q 2ew one.
A SONG OF THE SEA
''TruNtOn's Song" was sung all through
the navy, from commodore down D., cabin
boy. 1t commemorated the splendid vic
tory Of that old sea warrior over the
French in 1893, but was not written until
1913 1t began:
When Freedom. fair Freedom, her ban
ner displayed,
Defying each foe whom her rights would
invade,
Columbia brave sons swore those rights
to maintain,
And Ger ocean and earth to establish her
United they cry,
While that standard shall fly.
Resolved, firm and steady,
We always are ready
To fight. and 10 conquer, to conquer or
die
Another Of the ringing war songs of
that period. recalling the victory of the
Constellation over the French frigate In
surgente, was immensely popular. 1t
opened with the invitation TO:
Come all We Yankee sailors with swords
and pixies advance.
tbs time 10 try your courage and humble
=
My boys, the proud st. Georges cross,
the stripes above it wave.
The sons of France our seas invade
Destroy our commerce and or trade,
IT'S time this reck ming should be paid, |
To brave Yankee boys
Commodore Decatur's victory in the fri |
gate United States. over the Macedonian, |
etc eulogy OF the Yankee boys, part of |
which ran as follows:
And busy are our generous tars the con- |
quered zoe 20 save,
Our captain cries give me your hand,
Then of the ship who took command
But brave Yankee boys?"N
Perry was not forgotten by the popular
poets. one of them sang OF him and his |
Lake Erie achievement in this strain:
we gave them a broadside, our cannon
to try,
Well done says brave Perry, for quar-
ter they'll cry,
Shoot wei home my brave boys, they
shortly shall see
That brave as they are, still Drawer are
We
The victory of Hull over Davis pro-
iuced another epic of the war, which ran:
1T oft times has been told
That the British scorners bold
Gould fog the tars of France so neat
and handy, oh.
But they never found their match
Till the Yankee did them catch.
)h, the Yankee boys for fighting are
the dandy. OH"
An immensely popular song of this era
obtained this verse:
The deeds of our chieftains shall history
tell.
md each son of Liberty hear. with a
sign,