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May 9, 2006

History: The Birth of the Star-Spangled Banner

To my everlasting shame, I have spent this day in complete sloth, reading two books and doing nothing else. (The books in question are White on Black, by Ruben Gallego and Victory in Tripoli by Joshua E. London; a stereotypical right-wing fanatic yes I am.) Anyway, in Victory in Tripoli, London quotes the original text of the poem which would become, nine years later, The Star-Spangled Banner. Francis Scott Key's original poem was written to commemorate the victory over over the bey of Tripoli Yusuf Qamaranli (p 222, emphasis mine):

In conflict resistless each toil they endur'd'
Till their foes shrunk dismay'd from the war's desolation:
And pale beam'd the Crescent, its splendor obscur'd
By the light of the star-bangled flag of our nation,
Where each flaming star gleam'd a meteor of war,
And the turban'd head bowed to the terrible glare.
Then mixt with olive the laurel shall wave,
And form a bright wreath for the bow of the brave.

I just thought I'd let you know.

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Posted by Ruy Diaz at May 9, 2006 5:03 PM

Comments

I heard that this was the origin of the star spangled banner:

http://www.usflag.org/history/francisscottkey.html

This is pretty much the same story I learned in grade school too.

Posted by: G-Dub [TypeKey Profile Page] at May 10, 2006 12:45 PM

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