BALTIMORE (KPLR)- Vice-President Joe Biden attended a gala in Baltimore Saturday marking the 200th anniversary of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The commemoration was held at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, the site that endured a 2014 British bombardment during the War of 1812.
The victory inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” as he observed the American flag still flying over Baltimore Harbor's Fort McHenry after the bombardment.
“Ladies and gentleman, Francis Scott Key's question persists to this day. Does that Star - Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” asked Vice Presidnet Biden. “And to state the obvious, the resounding answer is yes and it will now and forever because it does not just wave above us, it lives in our hearts."
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was originally a poem written by Key, that he entitled "Defense of Fort McHenry." It was later put to music.
