The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1904-06-30

der guard of British sailors on their
own vessel, the Surprise, whence they
! witnessed the att2ck upon Fort Nc
Henry. Owing to their position the
American flag on the staff at the fort
was seen distinctly throucn the night
by the glare Of the battle, but before
dawn the firing ceased and the prison
ers anxiously watched for daylight to
see what colors floated on the ram
parts. The excess of patriotic feeling
experienced by Key when he saw that
the Stars and Stripes had not been
hauled down found expression in the
soul-stirring words of The Star-span-
gled Banner" On reaching Baltimore
he finished the lines of the song, which
he had hastily written on the back of
letter, and gave them to Captain Ben
jamin Fades, of the Twenty-seventh
Baltimore Regiment, with directions to
have a number of copies printed, and
that the song should be sung to the air,
"Anacreon in Heaven"
Selling the first copy from the press
Captain Fades fastened to the old tay-
ern, newt to the Holiday Street Thea
ire, where the actors were accustomed
to assemble. The verses were first
read aloud, and then, at the request Of
all present, Ferdinand Durang mounted
a chair and sang them for the first
time. The song became at once i'm
mensely popular, and it has steadily
gained in popularity to the present day.
1t was years before Key received
monumental recognition, and the first
acknowledgment in marble anL bronze
of his loyal services was erected by
Millionaire James Lick, Of San Fran
cisco, near the entrance to Golden Gate
Park. 1t cost 100000. and was the
work of the great American sculptor,
W. w. Story. The monument consists
OF a double arch Of marble, under
which is a superb bronze figure Of Key.
Maryland recently unveiled in Mount
Olivet Cemetery, Baltimore, another
monument to her gifted son, from de-
signs by the New York sculptor, Alex
ander Doyle. 1t Is entirely Of bronze,
giving Key in spirited figure on ped
estal eighteen feet high, and at the
base is group emblematical of pa
triotism. The Legislature appropriated
some of the funds for this tardy monu-
ment to the great lyric maker Of the
State. For years, in the city Of Fred
erick. the grave of Key has been
marked by the most appropriate Of all
ornaments. the Star-spangled Banner,
flying from a steel pole night and day,
in storm and sun. There have always
Leen patriots enough to keep fresh
edition Of Old Glory over the singers
resting place.
A song that appeals less to the war
like spirit of the Nation than to that
love of country upon which all real pa
triotism is founded is that most beauti-
full of National anthems, my Country,
'Tis of Thee" This hymnlike song
has, for more than half century, filled
the hearts of the children Of this coun.
try with that love Of freedom and Of
their native land which is the greatest
possible safeguard against the loss Of
liberty or the encroachment Of tyranny.
Its author, Samuel Francis Smith,
was born in Boston, Mass, October 21,
1908. He graduated from Harvard in
1928 and was ordained into the Baptist
ministry in 1884. He became editor Of
the Christian Review, in Boston, in
1912, and he was editor Of various pub
lications of the Baptist Missionary
Union from 1854 to 1869. Mr.. Smith
wrote My Country, 'Tis Of Thee"
while he was theological student, and
it was first sung at children's cele-
bration in the Park Street Church, Bos-
ton. on July 4, 1892.