Lady botches US anthem at a hockey game (1 Viewer)

[Greg Morse]

War of 1812, Fort McHenry

 

[John Alvarez]

Correct...I can't type never mind sing...

 

[Greg*go]

Actually the poem says

"the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that the flag was still there."

It doesn't talk about the flag being there the next day. It simply states that the British bombs helped the writer see the American flag still over the fort throughout the night.

"Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave
Over the land of the free and the home of the brave"

Now that part mentions that the flag lasted through the night.

And as Greg said, it's not the Civil War, it's the War of 1812 when the Americans got their asses handed to them. (This was the war that the British burnt D.C.) This might explain why this was made the National Anthem. The anthem actually talks about the writer worrying through a night that the U.S. would fall to the British, so it's kind of an up lifting song, which is why everyone cheers at the end of it!


I think that's my 5th grade social studies class shining through there.

 

[Greg Morse]

That's not totally correct. True DC was burned after a poor showing at Bladensburg, but the goal of that campaign was the taking of Baltimore and then onto Philadelphia. That obviously was a failure from a strategic standpoint (plus the British lost General Ross on the march from DC). With MacDonough's victory on Lake Champlain, closing a British invasion from the north and reopening an American road to an invasion of Canada, the British became just as happy to reach a peace with the US (quickly changing there position after the burning of DC), partially due to the fact that the Canada->America campaign season was only 4 months long, whereas the America->Canada campaign season was 8 months long. Additionally, British losses due to American privateers had soared so high that the merchant class was screaming for peace as insurance was making trade unprofitable (plus taxes that had been in effect to fight Napoleon, etc, etc, etc).

Personally, I think 1815 would have been an interesting year if the war had continued. American 74's were coming online as well as new frigates, which would have made the blockading of Boston and New York harbors much more difficult. With American control of lake champlain and most of the great lakes, Canada was reopened to invasion. Additionally, with Napoleon getting uppity again and many British troops out of position, who knows what would have happened on the continent.

 

[D. Scott MacDonald]

I recently saw a very moving documentary on the war of 1812, and it really made me appreciate our national anthem. This battle was the turning point of the war, where the US held off a much larger force to keep our independence.

 

[Eric Kahn]

23 years out of High school and I forgot my US history, should have asked an immigrant:frowning: