Before the War of 1812, the Stars and Stripes flag was more of a military emblem than a national symbol, but that changed in 1814 when British warships bombarded Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. Filmmaker Molly Hermann’s Smithsonian Channel-aired documentary recounts the almost chance series of events that changed American history and helped unite the young nation. This now obscure conflict came to a head after Britain's war with France, aggravated by England's seizing of American sailors at sea, Britain's designs on Canada, attempts to block America's westward expansion, and (likely) a desire to settle old scores from the American Revolutionary War. The best remembered event was when British troops invaded Washington D.C., torched the Library of Congress and other federal buildings, and then sacked and tried to burn the White House. America was not prepared for the invasion, and when England set its sights on Baltimore, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key—who was on board a British warship attempting to secure the release of an American prisoner—became an eyewitness to a fierce nighttime shell bombardment of Fort McHenry. The next morning the tattered flag still flew over the fort and, in a burst of patriotism and inspiration, Key composed the poem "Defence of Fort M’Henry" (aka "The Star-Spangled Banner"). Surprisingly, that flag (missing some pieces) survives in a light-and-temperature controlled environment at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The documentary describes the 1812 war, and how the flag was designed and later preserved, while singer Renee Fleming explains her feelings performing this notoriously difficult song. Most importantly, the film surveys the flag's role in boosting the nation's morale, as in the cases of the Iwo Jima flag-raising and the view of the American flag as it was hoisted over the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)
A Star-Spangled Story: Battle for America
(2014) 51 min. DVD: $19.99. Smithsonian Channel (avail. from most distributors). SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0483-4. Volume 33, Issue 6
A Star-Spangled Story: Battle for America
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