FLAG DAY and OUR WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

The next time you are in the library, you'll want to spend some time looking at the display in the case outside the Bullis Room. This month, the display showcases Bullis books that pertain to Flag Day and our War of Independence.

Here is a partial list of those on display:

The Pictorial History of the American Revolution;

with a sketch of the early history of the country.

By Robert Sears (1810-1892)

      The Life of George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces;

during the war which established the independence of this country, and

first president of the United States

By John Marshall (1755-1835)

Published by Crissy & Markley, and Thomas, Cowperthwait and Co., 1850

The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution;

or illustrations, by pen and pencil, of the history, biography, scenery, relics, 

and traditions of the war for independence

By Benson John Lossing (1813-1891)

Published by Harper & Brothers, 1855

The books will be back in the Bullis Room, available for reading, in mid-July.  So please plan to visit the Bullis Room to take a closer look at some of them. We especially recommend The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution as a reminder of what our military men and women did for us during that war as well as all the wars that have followed.

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

On this date in 1814 Francis Scott Key was moved to write a poem after witnessing how an American flag flying over Maryland's Fort McHenry withstood a night of British bombardment during the War of 1812.  He wrote the first stanza of this poem "on the back of a letter he had in his pocket,"  author Robert Sears wrote in his book The Pictorial History of the American Revolution; with a sketch of the early history of the country...." (This book, published in 1846 by R. Sears, is in the Bullis Collection for your reference use.) A facsimile of the original manuscript of the first stanza of the "The Star-Spangled Banner" is included in the book.

Key initially titled his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry."  The morning after he wrote the poem, Key showed it to his uncle, who had copies printed and distributed in the Baltimore and Gay streets neighborhood. Later on, the words were set to the tune of a current popular song and (as they say) the rest is history.

Sears also wrote, "The Star-spanged Banner itself...that waved over Fort McHenry during that bombardment, is still in existence. I saw it at the house of Christopher Hughes Armistead (a son of the gallant defender of the fort) in Baltimore during the late Civil War. It had eleven holes in it, made there by the shot of the British during the bombardment."

As we looked through Sears' book this week, our national anthem took on new meaning for us. We hope you have the same experience.