Let’s take a line-by-line tour of the history and meaning behind the lyrics. Like so many famous songs of yore, "The Star-Spangled Banner" started as a poem, called “The Defence of Fort ...

The Star Spangled Banner is part of a poem about a battle that was significant in the American History, the War of 1812. The words describe a battle. With a fleet of warships in Baltimore Harbor ...

Susan Biddle / The Washington Post / Getty Images The Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the lyrics to our national anthem in 1814—its appearance above Fort ...