The Prepper Broadcasting Network - The Phoenix Ignites the Story of The Star Spangled Banner

Episode Date: July 4, 2025

Wow! What an incredible job by Jfurg and now a part of PBN and American history!

Happy Fourth of July, PBNers. Jayford here, and I'm going to read to you the story of the Star-Spangled Banner. On September 12, the British landed their forces at North Point, a peninsula at the fork of the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay, to attempt a land attack on Baltimore. The British pushed on towards the city and were attacked at noon, resulting in the death of British Major General Robert Ross. The Americans retreated to Baltimore and the British consolidated their forces. On a merchant ship in the harbor was British prisoner exchange agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner and Georgetown lawyer, Francis Scott Key. With many American forces emerging in the night, the British decided to launch a naval attack on Fort McHenry, commanded by Admiral Cochran.

Major George Armistead, a future uncle to the Confederate General Lewis Armistead in the Civil War, commanded the fort. For 24 hours, mortar shells and congreve rockets were hurled at the fort. Over the harbor, there was a cloud of smoke that was only illuminated by the glow of rockets. The bombs burst in in air.

However, the British gunners had poor aim, and because of the American cannons in the fort and previously sunken merchant ships that Armistead had commanded to ring the entrance to the Baltimore Harbor, the British couldn't get close to the fort. And at nightfall, Cochrane sent 1200 of his men to the shore in an attempt to attack the fort from the rear. American forces met the uncommon soldiers and impeded them from advancing. It is said that during this battle, the flag on the fort was knocked over by the relentless bombardment.

Yet time and time again, brave American soldiers would race to this storm flag, risking life and limb to raise it once again. Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Throughout this battle, Key was in the harbor hearing cannon fire and booms of explosives after the hours of bombardment and the fear that the British could overtake the fort and head to Baltimore, Kia woke to a proud display of American patriotism and a symbol that we were not going to stop fighting. Armistead raised a 30 by 42 foot United States flag over the fort. Customarily, this garrison flag was raised by every Mormon at Reveille.

But after the night of fighting, this action took on a new meaning. That Mormon, he wrote notes for a future poem about this event. Later that week, he finished the poem, Defiance of Fort McHenry, on September 20th. The Baltimore Patriot published Defense of Fort McHenry. And Francis Scott Keyes' brother-in-law set the poem to music. And combined poem and music were published under the name The Star-Spangled Banner.