This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Star Spangled Banner Flag at Smithsonian Shows Fragile Past
The Star Spangled Banner flag, flown over Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, is now fragile and on limited displays at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington. It was kept by Col George Armistead's family for nearly a century before coming to the museum in 1912 and was made safer by a frame like display with a gray linen cover that opens briefly several times daily. Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment and penned the poem later set to music that became the national anthem in 1931.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Smithsonian
National Museum of American History
Washington, D.C
Fort McHenry
Col
George Armistead
Francis Scott Key
Washington
Baltimore
Key
Congress