Celebrating independence and thinking about our national anthem
Independence Day is on the horizon, a day to celebrate the birth of our nation. Here in Central Minnesota, freedom, fireworks, food and fun are the order of the day as we gather to celebrate our unity.
We often think that on July 4, 1776, a new government was set up. But in fact, it was an alliance of 13 colonies who banded together to declare independence from the British Empire. They declared their God-given right to self-governance, no longer subject to the unyielding rule and usurious taxes of the King of England.
Independence Day brings a majestic and noble story and history, inculcated in our youth and told to people around the world. And in storytelling, songs and poems are important. Most people mark the day through playing and singing our beautiful National Anthem, with its timeless message, with America the Beautiful a close second to my memory.
But sometimes it is easy to forget the words and key elements that brought these songs to us. The Star-Spangled Banner starts, "Oh say does that ...by the dawn's early light ..." as an inspired poem by Francis Scott Key. This was penned when he was sitting on a frigate during the War of 1812, negotiating the release of prisoners from Fort McHenry.
The British, under the command of Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cockburn and Major General Robert Ross, had shelled and burned the U.S. Capitol and the Executive Mansion (or the White House) on August 24, 1814, Key, a lawyer from Washington, went to secure release of William Beanes, a physician from Maryland. Key found the British fleet and boarded a ship, the Tonnant. He met with Ross and Cockburn, and they agreed to release Beanes but with the condition that they remain on an American ship until the British flotilla had bombarded Baltimore.
Watching in the Chesapeake, Key watched the British attack Baltimore. As the Star-Spangled Banner chronicles, the bombardment of Fort McHenry continued through the night but as the sun rose the tattered American flag still flew over the fort. The British attack failed and Ross died in the battle.
So the Star-Spangled Banner was written in September, not July, and about Baltimore, not Washington. Six days after the bombardment, it was published anonymously.
The words are very American, but the tune is not. The Star-Spangled Banner was set by Key to the tune of “To Anacreon in Heaven,” written by the British composer John Stafford Smith. Anacreon was a Greek poet who mostly wrote about love and wine. This leads some to call it a drinking song, but this is incorrect.
Indeed most of the tunes of the Revolutionary period were old sea shanties whose words were changed to suit a patriotic purpose. While we are used to hearing brass bands during parades, the instruments of the first Independence Day were probably fife and drum. Yankee Doodle’s words evolved as both loyalists (to the British King) and revolutionaries sang to either declare their view or mock the other, using a song that may have been around for decades. (Yankee Doodle is still the state anthem in Connecticut.)
By the 1890s, the Star-Spangled Banner was the song military ceremonies played when the flag was raised and lowered. It was officially adopted as our national anthem in 1931 and has inspired generations since. It thus may not have been the first patriotic song written, but it endured the test of over a century of time.
So, whether you are traveling or staying home, I wish you a wonderful 4th of July. Let us celebrate and be grateful for all that unites us!
This is the opinion of Times Writers Group member Barbara Banaian, a professional pianist who lives in the St. Cloud area. Her column is published the first Sunday of the month.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Celebrating independence and thinking about our national anthem
