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Smithsonian National Museum of American History Smithsonian News National Museum of American History Kenneth E. Behring Center Media only: Valeska Hilbig (202) 633-3129 March 2014 History of the Star-Spangled Banner Fact Sheet On the morning of Sept. 14, 1814, Maj. George Armistead hoisted a magnificent American flag above Ft. McHenry to signal the American victory over superior British forces in the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key, an amateur poet, had witnessed the 25-hour bombardment from aboard an American truce ship in the harbor. As he saw the garrison flag unfurled “by the dawn’s early light,” he was so moved by its sight that he penned a poem in tribute. Key set the words to music, and the song became the national anthem in 1931. He named the flag he saw that morning the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and it is still known by that name. The “broad stripes and bright stars” we hail as the Star-Spangled Banner were made by Mary Pickersgill, a professional flagmaker from Baltimore, during the summer of 1813. She was paid $405.90 for the 30-foot by 42-foot flag. Helping with this lucrative order were her 13-year-old daughter Caroline; nieces Eliza Young (13), Margaret Young (15) and Jane Young (19); and a 13- year-old African American indentured servant, Grace Wisher. Pickersgill’s elderly mother, Rebecca Young, from whom she had learned flag making, may have helped as well. The yards of bunting needed to make the huge flag quickly overwhelmed the small rooms and cramped hallway of the Pickersgill house. The flag makers moved their operation across the street to the more spacious Claggett’s brewery. There they assembled the 15 red-and-white wool stripes and placed 15 cotton stars on the blue canton. Years later, Caroline Pickersgill Purdy wrote that the household had worked “many nights until midnight to complete it [the flag] in the given time.” She also wrote that after the battle, Armistead had asked her mother to repair the damage done to the flag by a British shot. Her version of events perpetuated the myth that the Star-Spangled Banner flew during the battle. Eyewitness accounts, however, confirm that the garrison flag was raised the morning after the battle to the tune of “Yankee Doodle.” Lt. Col. Armistead acquired the flag when he left military service, and after his death in 1818 it passed to his widow, Louisa Armistead. The family kept it in their Baltimore home and allowed the famous flag to be displayed on patriotic occasions, such as Lafayette’s visit to Baltimore in 1824 and at Defender’s Day celebrations honoring the historic battle. It was Louisa Armistead who most likely sewed the red chevron on the Star-Spangled Banner—the beginning of the letter “A” for Armistead. In 1861, Armistead’s daughter, Georgiana Armistead Appleton, inherited the flag, despite a legal challenge from her brother. In 1873, she lent it to flag historian George Preble, who had it photographed at the Boston Navy Yard and exhibited it at the New England Historic Genealogical SI-473-2008 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION MRC 623 PO Box 37012 Washington DC 20013-7012 Telephone 202.633.3129 Fax 202.633.8053 Society. At this time, Mrs. Appleton allowed pieces of the Star-Spangled Banner to be cut and given away as tokens of appreciation for service or friendship. Souvenirs, or relics, of important events and people in American history became highly prized and collectible objects in the late 1800s. Pieces of historic flags, such as the Star-Spangled Banner, were especially cherished. Georgiana Armistead Appleton said, “Had we given all that we have been importuned for little would be left to show.” Throughout the years, several of the “snippings” from the Star-Spangled Banner have been returned to the museum. The missing 15th star, however, has never been located. When Eben Appleton, grandson of George Armistead, inherited the Star-Spangled Banner, he lent it to the city of Baltimore for the 1880 sesquicentennial celebration, but after that it remained in a safe- deposit vault in New York City. Understanding that the family heirloom was a national treasure, he began corresponding with Smithsonian officials in 1907 about its future. At first Appleton loaned it to the museum, but in 1912 he made the Star-Spangled Banner a permanent gift to the nation, saying that he wanted it to belong “to that Institution in the country where it could be conveniently seen by the public and where it would be well cared for.” When the Star-Spangled Banner arrived at the Smithsonian, it was already frayed and torn and was now 30 feet by 34 feet. A canvas backing, attached to the flag in 1873 for support, was too heavy for the thin bunting and needed to be replaced. In 1914, the Smithsonian hired Amelia Fowler to preserve the flag. Fowler had worked extensively on historic flags, including many at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. She had patented a sewing technique that secured a linen support to fragile flags with a honeycomb pattern of stitches. Applying the Fowler treatment to the Star-Spangled Banner required 10 needlewomen to use 1.7 million stitches; the work took eight weeks. The Smithsonian paid Fowler $1,243 for materials and labor. The flag went on public exhibition in the Arts and Industries Building—then known as the National Museum. For 50 years, the public saw only a portion of the Star-Spangled Banner because no case was large enough to display the entire flag. Throughout the years, it was carefully monitored and occasionally vacuumed according to textile preservation standards to remove surface dirt. During World War II, the flag, along with a number of other Smithsonian treasures, was taken from Washington and stored in Luray, Va., for safekeeping. In the late 1950s, when the new National Museum of History and Technology—now the National Museum of American History—was being designed, architects created a central space in which the flag could be hung. From 1964 to 1998, the Star-Spangled Banner occupied the museum’s most honored place and inspired millions of visitors. The flag was taken down from Flag Hall in 1998 and moved into a conservation lab for extensive treatment. For more than a century, the Smithsonian Institution has cared for the Star-Spangled Banner. The goal has always remained the same: to ensure the treasured flag’s survival for generations to come. The flag’s bicentennial is celebrated in 2014. # # # SI-473-2008 2 .
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