BALTIMORE
A 15-star, 15-stripe American flag swished in a slight breeze above Fort McHenry at 12:58 p.m. Sunday when four Air Force A-10 aircrafts, flying in formation, screamed overhead. A tour guide pointed skyward and traced the planes’ path toward M&T Bank Stadium, 3 miles northwest, where they were on time for a national anthem flyover.
The story of America’s national anthem began 203 years ago at Fort McHenry. On Sept. 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key watched from aboard a United States truce ship as the bastion fort survived a 25-hour bombardment from the British navy. When the shelling ceased and ships retreated, the Fort McHenry garrison hoisted a large red-white-and-blue, stars-and-stripes flag.