Star-Spangled words reunite with its flag

Smithsonian joint exhibit a historic first

WASHINGTON — The original, handwritten manuscript of The Star-Spangled Banner and the flag that inspired the song’s lyrics will be displayed together at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the first time the historic pieces are believed to be shown side by side.

The manuscript is normally on display at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore and the flag has been at the Smithsonian since the early 1900s. They’ll be displayed together from Flag Day, June 14, through July 6. The three-week display is the start of celebrations marking 200 years since the song was written on Sept. 14, 1814.

Bonnie Lilienfeld, a Smithsonian curator working on the manuscript’s display in Washington, said she hopes the exhibit will help people think more about where the song’s words came from. The two objects together provides an “aha moment,” said Jennifer Jones, the curator who oversees the flag.

“It’s meant to be emotional. It’s meant to be reflective.”

Francis Scott Key was a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet when he wrote the song’s words during the War of 1812. Key watched as the British bombarded Baltimore’s Fort McHenry for more than 24 hours. When he saw the fort’s flag flying on the morning after the bombardment, a signal that U.S. troops had withstood the enemy, he was inspired to write a poem originally called Defence of Fort McHenry. The poem, set to music and later renamed, became the U.S. national anthem in 1931.