Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland is the final resting place for the author of the Star-Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key. FSK grew up in Frederick County and became a lawyer. After the British burned Washington DC in early September 1814 Dr. William Beanes an acquaintance of FSK was arrested. John S. Skinner, a US government agent for prisoner exchange, asked FSK to accompany him to help secure the release of Dr. Beanes. They were successful in negotiating his release. However the British feared they would divulge their plan to attack Baltimore and detained them on a truce ship during the battle. This is how FSK became an eyewitness to the bombardment of Fort McHenry. In the pre-dawn hours of September 14, 1814, seeing the stars and stripes still flying above the fort inspired FSK to write the poem first titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry”.
Flag that flew over Fort McHenry is on display at the National Museum of American HistoryEventually, the poem was put to music and titled “The Star-Spangled Banner”.The song became especially popular and a powerful expression of patriotism during the Civil War. In 1861, devastated by the split of the nation, poet Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a fifth verse to FSK’s song. The verse was included in many of the song’s printings throughout the war. The song was recognized in 1889 by the U.S. Navy, who sang it when raising and lowering the flag, and then President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed by executive order in 1916 for it to be the national anthem. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially declared the national anthem by a congressional resolution and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on March 3, 1931.
Mount Olivet Cemetery is a very special place and final resting place for many notable individuals through out history including both of my parents. If you are a history buff I highly recommend following an employee at Mount Olivet and historian Chris Haugh’s blog “Stories in Stone”