National Anthem Day is every March 3rd, commemorating the day that congress made "
The Star-Spangled Banner" their national anthem.
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| The earliest surviving sheet music of "The Star-Spangled Banner", from 1814. |
In a turning point in the War of 1812, the British failed to capture Baltimore. During the battle, lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor. Key's poem about the event, "Defence of Fort McHenry", which he wrote between September 14-17, 1814, was later set to music and became the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The Secretary of War, Daniel E. Lamont issued an order in the 1890s that it "be played at every Army post every evening at retreat." and in 1899, the US Navy officially adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner" as its anthem.
In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson issued an executive order making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the US national anthem. The order was confirmed by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 which was signed by President Herbert Hoover. Before 1931, the US national anthem was "My Country 'Tis Of Thee."
The full version of "The Star Spangled Banner" consists of four verses, but it is very rare to hear any but the first performed.
