Sometimes, history is written not by the men who fire rockets but by the ones who survive them. During the Battle of Baltimore in 1812, Francis Scott Key, the American lawyer, and author was on a truce ship, watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
The Royal Navy (the world’s largest at the time), fired a barrage of Congreve rockets. These were iron-cased rockets, whose launch sounds similar to that of a modern-day missile launch – terrifying. In their wake, they leave a red trail and easily start fires on impact.
The bombardment of Fort Henry/ Public Domain
For 25 hours these rockets bombarded the fort. But at the end of the barrage, the fort was still standing. And the United States flag still flew from the top of it. Francis was inspired by the sight and started to write his report/poem. Two lines stand out:
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
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