Found above the stairwell on the way down to the lunchroom at McHenry West High School is this mural of the night that Francis Scott Key wrote our National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner.
As usual, you can click to enlarge the image.
A Col. Skinner was on the ship with Key as he wrote the words on September 14, 1814, in Baltimore’s harbor.
We’d like to think we were related since we are from Maryland.
During the election of 2004, our family was marching in the Pioneer Days (or was it Founder’s Day) Parade with Alan Keyes. We were singing, among other patriotic songs, “The Star Spangled Banner.” When we were finished, Alan recounted that his family is believed to be descended from the slaves that Francis Scott Key owned during those days. Most of us were caught in uncomfortable silence.