Star Spangled Images

The flag that inspired the national anthem was big on purpose. Before the British attack on Baltimore in 1814, the commander of Fort McHenry asked for a flag so large that the enemy would have no trouble seeing it. Mary Pickersgill and her helpers sewed one about 30 by 42 feet.

On the night of September 13, 1814, British ships bombarded the fort for hours. Francis Scott Key, a Washington lawyer, watched from a ship in the harbor where he had gone to negotiate the release of a prisoner. In the morning he saw the great flag still flying, and he wrote a poem about it. Set to a popular tune of the day, it became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner." Congress did not make it the official national anthem until 1931.

The flag itself survived and is now in the Smithsonian. Pieces of it were cut off and given away as keepsakes in the 1800s, which was a common custom then. The American flag has changed shape more often than most people realize. The first flag law in 1777 called for 13 stripes and 13 stars, but did not say how to arrange the stars. Flag makers did what they liked, in circles, rows, and big single stars made of smaller ones. A new star was added for each new state. A standard layout was not set until 1912, when the flag reached 48 stars.

That makes the flag a handy dating tool. When you look at a picture with a flag in it, count the stars. A 48-star flag places the picture between 1912 and 1959. Odd star arrangements usually point to the 1800s.

This board gathers the flag in all its forms. There are photographs of parades and celebrations, Fourth of July crowds, and flags on buildings and ships. There are patriotic posters, especially from the world wars, when the flag was used to sell bonds and recruit soldiers. There are prints of Fort McHenry and Key. The story of Betsy Ross sewing the first flag comes from her family, decades later, and historians have never been able to confirm it.