…With the Blood of Patriots

The day was quickly ending that evening when ships outside Baltimore Harbor started bombarding the American Fort McHenry. It was sundown on September 13, 1814 when the British started bombarding the fort and the lights in Baltimore went out. Shells burst over the Fort for 25 solid hours: It was the only illumination in the entire area, allowing the flag to be seen by all—and that it was still standing through the night.

An American attorney and poet could be found on one of the British ships in the harbor along with a military officer, Colonel John Stuart Skinner. The two were meeting for a prisoner exchange with two British Flag Officers and a British General for the release of one Dr. William Beanes. Because they had knowledge of British military unit locations and strengths, they were not allowed to return to Baltimore that evening. Instead, the aforementioned attorney found himself without anything else to do but watch the bombardment of the beloved Fort at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor. Inspired, he penned the poem “The Defense of Fort McHenry,” using the rhythm of the piece “To Anacreon in Heaven.”

The man was Francis Scott Key and the song that resulted from his words would become the American National Anthem in the early 20^TH century: “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Years earlier, at the conception of the American Union, the thought of revolting against the British Empire was only supported by less than 1 in 3 people, even though the colonists were being taxed without proper representation within the British Parliament. The beginning of the Revolutionary Era is recognized as being 1763, with a declaration of the independence of the 13 colonies being posed 13 years later. It wasn’t until 1783, however, that Britain recognized the independence of the United States of America and hostilities between the two nations—at least until the War of 1812—ceased.

The right thing is rarely the easiest, or even the quickest in coming. Change brings destruction, often obliterating one paradigm to be replaced with another. This paradigm change may be brought about by the sweat and tears of a few or the blood of many patriots. On this day, the birthday of the United States of America, reflect on the values of your freedom, regardless of where in the world you find yourself or under whichever flag you choose to fly—for the ideals that formed our nation are also those that make many other nations and peoples great. It has been said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. On this day, remember the ideals that bind us all together and the blood that has been shed by the patriots that have been willing to fight for those ideals.