Star Spangled Banner Flag
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Star Spangled Banner Flag is the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. Although it is commonly thought to have been made by Betsy Ross[1], it was actually sewn by local flagmaker Mary Pickersgill under a government commission in 1813 at a cost of $405.90.[2]
George Armistead the commander of Fort McHenry specified "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance".[3][4]
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[edit] Attack on Fort McHenry
Beginning at dawn on September 13, 1814, British warships began to bombard the fort continuously. The battle lasted for twenty-five hours under heavy rain. But when the British ships were unable to pass the fort and penetrate the harbor, the attack was ended. Seeing that the American flag was still flying over the fort the following morning, and seeing the British repulsed, Francis Scott Key was moved to write the poem Defence of Fort McHenry, which later was put to music under the title The Star-Spangled Banner and became the national anthem of the United States.
[edit] Smithsonian
The flag that flew during that episode in history, with its fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, became a significant artifact. It is permanently housed today in the National Museum of American History, one of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The flag was given to the museum in 1912, restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and a four phase restoration project began in May 1999. In the first phase, the team removed the linen support backing that was attached to the flag during the 1914 restoration. The second phase consisted of the most comprehensive, detailed examination of the condition and construction of the Star-Spangled Banner to date which provided critical information for later work. Planning and executing a cleaning treatment for the flag was the third phase. In the fourth and final phase of the project, now under way, curators and conservators are developing a long-term preservation plan. When the National Museum of American History re-opens during the summer of 2008, the flag will be on display in a special conservation laboratory that will allow it to lie flat.[5]]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Smithsonian
- ^ Smithsonian flag receipt
- ^ Davenport, Misha A Nations History Chicago-Sun Times 2002-06-02
- ^ Fort McHenry lesson guide retrieved 2008-02-09
- ^ [http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/7_preserving/7d_project/fs7d.html Smithsonian Preserving the Star Spangled Banner
[edit] External links
- Learn about the flag's current restoration.
- Learn about a research project to save the flag's fabric by using LED technology.
- Visit the Smithsonian's Star Spangled Banner Web site.
