March 3, 1931: The National Anthem

The actual "Star-Spangled Banner" described in the song

March 3, 1931: In its final meeting of the term, Congress ratifies Francis Scott Key's poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" as America's National Anthem.

Key had written it, under the title of "Defence of Fort M'Henry," while on a British ship stationed outside Fort McHenry in Baltimore, where he, then a 35-year-old lawyer from Frederick, Maryland, was trying to negotiate the release of American prisoners.

It was September 13, 1814, the height of what became known as the War of 1812, and he saw ships of Britain's Royal Navy shell the fort, as part of their attempt to take the important port city of Baltimore, just 18 days after their Army had burned the national capital of Washington, D.C., including the Capitol Building and the White House.

In the morning, the British realized they weren't going to win this battle, and backed off. The Fort's commanding officer, Major George Armistead, ordered the flag raised. At the time, federal law said that the American Flag should have as many stars and as many stripes as there were States in the Union. At the time, there were 18 States, but most American Flags had 15 stars and 15 stripes, as had been the case since 1795, following the admission to the Union of Vermont and Kentucky. The flag that Key saw flying from Fort McHenry had 15 and 15. In 1818, a new law was passed, limiting the stripes to 13, honoring the 1st 13 States, while adding a new star for each State.

When Key's poem was published, it was set to the tune of, oddly enough, an English drinking song, "To Anacreon in Heaven," composed by John Stafford Smith. Since that song was already familiar in America, the song caught on, especially after the War of 1812 concluded with the Battle of New Orleans the following January 8.

Key's 1st verse is the only one that is usually sung. There are 4 verses, and the 3rd contains pro-slavery words: "No refuge could save the hireling and slave, from the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave." So, even America's National Anthem is tinged with slavery, "America's original sin." Smith died in 1836, Key in 1843.

The flag remained in Armistead's family, which became the Appleton family through a daughter of Armistead's, and was displayed on special occasions. Some pieces of the flag, including one of the stars, were given away as souvenirs, resulting in the flag being much shorter than it originally was.

In 1912, the Appleton family donated the flag to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, which renovated it in 1914, and again in 2008. It is now at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, at 1300 Constitution Avenue NW in Washington. It is now on display in a two-story display chamber that allows it to lie at a 10-degree angle in dim light, to protect it. The Flag House, where the flag was sewn in 1813 by Mary Young Pickersgill (1776-1857), is at 844 East Pratt Street.

In 1889, the U.S. Navy officially adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner." In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that the song be played at military and other appropriate occasions. During the 7th inning stretch of Game 1 of the 1918 World Series at Comiskey Park in Chicago -- the White Sox let the Cubs use it because it seated more than Wrigley Field -- a band played the song, as a tribute to the troops then fighting in World War I, and the fans stood up and sang along. It began to be played before every Major League Baseball game in 1942, the 1st season of World War II, and has been played before American sporting events ever since.

Also in 1918, Representative John Charles Linthicum, whose Maryland district included Fort McHenry, introduced a bill to officially recognize "The Star-Spangled Banner" as America's National Anthem. He continued to reintroduce the bill, but it went nowhere, until 1930, when the Veterans of Foreign Wars presented a petition with 5 million signatures recommending the adoption. Congress finally passed the bill, and President Herbert Hoover signed it into law.

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March 3, 1931 was a Tuesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers, 4-1 at the Boston Garden.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Quakers, 5-1 at the Philadelphia Arena.

* And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 1-0 at the Ottawa Auditorium.