star-spangled

The story

Best-known from Francis Scott Key's 1814 poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry": "O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave, / O'er the Land of the free, and the home of the brave?" "Defence of Fort M'Henry" was set to music with the title "The Star-Spangled Banner" and was officially designated as the national anthem of the United States in 1931. The line was inspired by the sight of a garrison flag (with 15 stars and 15 stripes) flying over Fort McHenry after the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812; that particular flag, preserved for exhibition in the National Museum of American History, is itself known as the Star-Spangled Banner. Key had used the similar phrase "Star Spangled flag" in his 1805 poem "When the Warrior Returns". The phrase is often used to refer or allude to the flag of the United States in general, the design of which traditionally adds a new star for each state admitted into the Union.