Show 91 francis scott beij e M U AP A or re rait of f ew patr 0 oa o A BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON 11 HAS been described as the lie forgotten man who wrote the words that nobody can remember to tile the tune tulle nobody hn can sing and hence became famous as the author of the national anthem of the united states of amera ic lea a lie ile was r rancis francis scott key the man dian who gave the name of the star spangled banner to the american lag flag the birthday of which we celebrate as flag day on june 11 14 the circumstances under which our national emblem was thus christened are familiar no doubt to most americans they also know the name came of the man who lit did d the christening hut but it Is doubtful if one out of a hundred could tell anything else about him where he was born what sort of man be grew up tip to be and what else happened to him after that bl high ii point in his career when he stood on the leek deck of a british t ship and looking toward bombarded fort mchenry Mcl lenry by the dawns early light saw that our flag dag was still there if they want to learn more about him they can do no better belter than to get a copy of tile book spangled banner the 1 tory story of francis scott key written by victor wei bright and published recently by farrar nod and rinehart of new york it Is the first complete biography of this forgotten man a full genath portrait of a 8 patriot who deserves better than the neglect that has been his lot francis scott key like adam came of the red earth says lie was born all august gust 1 1779 at terra aubra ills his fam ilys country seat in the maryland redlands and although lie he became a noted lawyer and associated with some of the nations greatest in the national capital to the end of his days lie he remained a son of the soil with a passionate love for the place of his birth key was also a true son of the american revolution before he was born john ross noss key his father marched away to the siege of boston as a lieutenant of one of the If maryland aryland companies of expert riflemen whose coming gave puch fuch a thrill of joy to his excellency gen george washington after his birth the elder key rode away to virg virginia enla to fight with lafayette against benedict arnold and lord cornwallis curiously enough the man who was to influence francis scott keys life most was not a patriot but a tory his uncle philip barton key who bo had been studying law in philadelphia at the outbreak of the revolution joined the british army there and became an officer in a maryland loyalist regiment so the revolution was a dill chil war tor for the keys as it was for many another family francis scott key was six when uncle philip barton key the erstwhile tory forgiven by hla his family and pardoned by the government came lome home from england it was a gala day 1 it may have been the influence of uncle philip with his penchant tor for poetry or it may have been an inheritance from an ancestor who was a fifteenth century poet laureate of england but in any case francis scott key began writing verses as a boy and continued doing so all his life at first he wrote tills this for the entertainment of himself and of tda hla sister ann phoebe charlton chariton key when as a youth he began to fall in love he wooed the girl of the moment with verse certainly it was tile the influence of uncle philip which determined that he should become a lawyer and which sent him to st johns college in annapolis where he could be under the eye of the uncle who was already one of the leading attorneys ot of maryland after his graduation from st johns it was the influence of uncle philip which placed him in the office of judge jeremiah townley chase to read law studying in judge chases office was another fledgling lawyer destined tor for fame roger brooke taney recently graduated from dickinson college at carlisle pa the two became close friends and their relationship became even closer vohen ihen taney tancy met ann key fell in love with her and married her years later he be was to become the chief justice taney of the united states supreme court who handed down the historic dred scott decision in the summers key returned to terra aubra to spend his vacation and there la in two successive years two significant events occurred in 1797 he met fourteen year old mary tayloe lloyd whom he married five years later in the summer of 1798 he heard beard for the first time a political song to the tune of to anacreon in heaven the melody that was to make him famous it was adams and liberty celebrating president adams firm notes to france and england and it became one of the most popular songs ever sung in america its author robert hobert treat pallie had written it for the fete of a charitable fire society in massachusetts the words were rousing the tune was novel even Jefferson lans sang it lustily after completing his studies in annapolis key went to frederick md to begin the practice of 0 law alter after he was married lie moved to georgetown just outside of washington the new capital there to engage in the practice of law with his uncle philip As a lawyer lie developed into an original pleader ills his voice firm sonorous mellow his remarkably distinct enunciation his striking erect six toot foot figure were almost his big undoing his oratory and personal charm chann exceeded his dis logic lie ile neglected to pierce fallacies with reason instead he resorted to humanitarian appeals nis ills countenance calm and expressionless in repose now betrayed his sentimentality like a tragic actor when he throw threw JOB his whole soul into a speech his face reflected how deeply he was moved so F francis scott key became one of the outstanding attorneys of his bis timea time a fact which Is all too little known by his fellow americans who think of him only as the author of their national anthem with his uncle who was one of the bousel tor for the defense he had a minor part in the impeachment trial of samuel chase of the supreme court the first great legal battle that rocked the federal government soon after this trial which alch resulted in the acquittal of chase philip barton key retired from the practice of law and turned the business over to his bis nephew ills ilia first important caso case was the defense of dr erich bollman and sam pel nel Swart bout who were implicated la in ow 1 Z 3 wet J 6 5 4 11 4 0 6 M I 1 J fort mc 1 0 to 4 11 if 7 Z am pit g A LJJ ka ritz I 1 a q Mern ortal at fort mchenry L L rober brooke tanea conspiracy a case which was carried to the sn sa preme court and which resulted in their acquittal quit tal this spectacular case so soon goon after francis scott key began to practice law alone definitely tely established him as a leading barrister at the age of twenty eight UIs his manner of speech previously taken for granted now bo came a minor sensation ue ile was a celebrity ills law cases increased in number and importance in the meantime events were shaping up for the incident which was to bring him his greatest tame fame the young nation had beer been forced to take decisive action against the barbary arbary li pirates to protect its commerce when the naval officers ubo ho had bad subdued the corsairs cor returned to america they were much feted for one of 0 these festive dinners key composed a song in honor of young stephen decatur and set it to the music of to anacreon in heaven among other phrases in the song was a reference to the etar spangled flag dag of our nation which with the tune to which it was sung was curiously prophetic of another song lie he was to write 10 years later although that song was a war song its author was opposed to the conflict which produced it that Is he be opposed it until the british invaded his beloved maryland then he joined a field artillery company that had bad been hastily organized in georgetown became a quartermaster and a very inefficient one and took part in the comic opera battle of 0 blakesburg Blad esburg ills principal contribution there was as was that of many another gentleman officer to run around offering ill timed advice to the distracted general winder and contributing to the destruction of 0 what little unity of command there was As a result of the defeat of the raw american troops at bladensburg washington tell fell into the hands of the invaders who applied the torch to the capitol and other buildings after this work of destruction the enemy started to capture baltimore and tool took with them as a prisoner a certain dr of upper marlborough who annoyed by the rowdy behavior of straggling british sailors and soldiers had headed a body of citizens that arrested the roisterers roister ers and threw them into the county jail in that town the doctors friends asked key to accompany a colonel skinner who was going under a flag of truce to the british to secure the release of beatles beanes who was held on board a british warship key and skinner were successful in their mission but the three men were kept on board the admirals frigate as the british fleet sailed to attack fort mchenry the principal defense of baltimore before the attack attach began they were placed on a small boat which was wa kept closely attached to the frigate base of the kea ke memorial the rest of that story Is too familiar to need repetition here how bow key watched the bombardment of the fort through the night in an agony of suspense as to the outcome and how at last when morning looming came he sa saw the stars anti and stripes still floating over oer the tort fort a sign that the he attack had been unsuccessful immediately lie he began to write a poem on the back of an old envelop perhaps it was from john randolph of roanoke Ito anoLe for the alie two men had bad become great friends and regular correspondents after their first meeting at the impeachment trial of judge chase after the unsuccessful attack the british fleet sailed away leaving the three men to proceed upstream to baltimore in their small boat key hastened to the office of a newspaper the th e baltimore american to have his poem printed the only person left in the office everyone else had bad gone to assist in the defense of the city from the invaders was a oung boung lad who set the poem in type and printed it as a handbill inside of an hour so wrote keys friend roger brooke tanoy taney long afterwards it was being sung all over town by the citizens of baltimore mad with joy over their cites deliverance from the fear of capture by the enemy thus was the star spangled banner our national anthem born in the tb minds of most americans the story of francis scott key ends at this point in his life so it Is the service of his biographer to sho show w that his career after september was not anticlimax anti climax in fact was even more distill distinguished than it nad had been before ills his reputation as a successful lawyer continued to grow lie became a close friend of president andrew jac jackson k as much of an insider as any member of the kitchen cabinet and could have had bad any appointment within reason but he asked tho the president for only one favor a cabinet appointment tor for his friend and brother in law roger brooke taney the result was that taney became attorney general genera and tills this activity on keys part paved the way for taney which led in a few stormy years to the chief which led eventually to the dred scott decision the unconstitutionality of the missouri compromise and the civil war so francis scott key was a history maker as well vell BS As a national anthem writer ile he was also a diplomat as the emissary of jackson lie he settled the creek controversy might haie bathed alabama in blood it was as a dispute over indian lands in alabama in which the questions of states rights and nullification were involved ile he was a philanthropist and humanitarian although a slave owner lie he hated tile the institution of slavery and sought a solution of the problems which it brought to the nation cation by helping form the american colonization society for settling treed freed slaves in africa ile he was an ardent churchman and did much to further tile the cause of the episcopal church in this country ile he became the father of eleven children and his fatally family life Is one of the most appealing aspects of his bis whole career on january 11 1843 francis scott key died in the baltimore home of his daughter elizabeth rhoebe phoebe howard lie he lad had grown up with the republic ills contemporaries knew him not as a poet but as a conspicuous and able and sometimes bothersome liberal a distressingly serious layman and most singular of all an honest lawyer amiable wild mild generous and virtuous his colonization pleas and his free school activities were accepted tor for what they were the enterprises of a prosperous it not wealthy man dian who carried into town life the simple idealism of a benign squire dynamic but essentially senti sent ally lally lc lie he was a useful and on that meteoric journey godlen he wrote a song which stirs our spirits and pleases our ear car lie he added more significance to hla his life than lie he ev ever er anticipated lie a tone deaf album poet achieved immortality in 10 spite of himself and like most maryland celebrities he is now dow a vague figure his life eclipsed by one spectacular deed 0 ody western union |