Star Spangled Banner

Our family went on a vacation to Washington D.C. I was moved by this trip in many ways, but the most powerful thing I saw there was the original star spangled banner.

            We were in the Smithsonian museum of American History. As we went through, our family noticed a large metal sculpture of a waving American flag on a wall. We went through some doors, and what I saw was far from what I expected. The room was unlike any of the other places we had been to in the museum. It was very dark; the few things that gave any light to the room were a few dim lights and a large, red, white, and blue information station. On this glowing info table there was facts about the war of 1812, the national anthem, and the flag that flew during this war that inspired our country’s national anthem.

            We turned a corner and saw a huge, glass display case. In it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen: a large, worn, tattered American flag. It was ripped and frayed along the edges, and many holes were in it. We learned that this flag was made by Mary Pickersgill and her daughters, and it was flown in the war of 1812. In the morning after the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key saw the American flag that Pickersgill had made still flying and wrote the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner on the back of a letter. The flag later belonged to the Armistead family. They would cut off pieces and give them as souvenirs. After a while, many people learned of the flag and of the Star Spangled Banner, and soon the flag became a national icon and treasure, and a symbol of unity and freedom.

            We turned another corner and saw hanging on a wall the original song that Francis Scott Key had written, and the first printed copy ever made.

            Seeing all of this in one room was inspiring. It reminded me of the spirit of our country, and the fact that the flag and song had endured along with our country for 200 years is amazing. I left the room with a renewed pride in our country and our flag, and all that it stands for.

            So if 200 years from now, we asked, “O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” what would the answer be?

            I think it would be yes.

Our family went on a vacation to Washington D.C. I was moved by this trip in many ways, but the most powerful thing I saw there was the original star spangled banner. Pictures were not allowed to be taken so I am submitting a photo of an American flag flying in D.C at the time of our trip. 

            We were in the Smithsonian museum of American History. As we went through, our family noticed a large metal sculpture of a waving American flag on a wall. We went through some doors, and what I saw was far from what I expected. The room was unlike any of the other places we had been to in the museum. It was very dark; the few things that gave any light to the room were a few dim lights and a large, red, white, and blue information station. On this glowing info table there was facts about the war of 1812, the national anthem, and the flag that flew during this war that inspired our country’s national anthem.       

      We turned a corner and saw a huge, glass display case. In it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen: a large, worn, tattered American flag. It was ripped and frayed along the edges, and many holes were in it. We learned that this flag was made by Mary Pickersgill and her daughters, and it was flown in the war of 1812. In the morning after the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key saw the American flag that Pickersgill had made still flying and wrote the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner on the back of a letter. The flag later belonged to the Armistead family. They would cut off pieces and give them as souvenirs. After a while, many people learned of the flag and of the Star Spangled Banner, and soon the flag became a national icon and treasure, and a symbol of unity and freedom.

            We turned another corner and saw hanging on a wall the original song that Francis Scott Key had written, and the first printed copy ever made.

            Seeing all of this in one room was inspiring. It reminded me of the spirit of our country, and the fact that the flag and song had endured along with our country for 200 years is amazing. I left the room with a renewed pride in our country and our flag, and all that it stands for.

            So if 200 years from now, we asked, “O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” what would the answer be?