We take the star from Heaven, red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty.
George Washington
From Eva March Tappan, The Little Book of the Flag.
Images from Library of Congress which has digitally archived many illustrations during the history of the United States.
The Star Spangled Banner Francis Scott Key
Oh, say, can you
see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'T is the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause, it is just,
And this be our motto: 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free
and the home of the brave!
Quiet Symbol of Hope
Raised over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, our flag signaled American victory over the British in the Battle of Baltimore.
Francis Scott Key, watching from a distance, was deeply moved by the courage of his fellow patriots in the struggle for liberty. In trust and thankfulness to God, he wrote the words to The Star-Spangled Banner.
The same tattered flag is now in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. It has also been featured on the Jul/Aug, 2004, cover of American Spirit magazine.
Prepared By: The Star-Spangled Banner Project National Museum of American History, Behring Center In cooperation with the Public Inquiry Mail Service, Smithsonian Institution, November 2004 http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/starflag.htm
I don't believe there are any new objections to be discovered to the truth of Christianity, though there may be some art in presenting old ones in a new dress. My faith has been greatly confirmed by the infidel writers I have read. Men may argue ingeniously against our faith, as indeed they may against anything -- but what can they say in defense of their own -- I would carry the war into their own territories, I would ask them what they believe -- if they said they believed anything, I think that they might be shown to be more full of difficulties and liable to infinitely greater objections than the system they oppose and they were credulous and unreasonable for believing it. If they said they did not believe anything, you could not, to be sure, have anything further to say to them. In that case they would be insane, or at best ill qualified to teach others what they ought to believe or disbelieve.
Francis Scott Key
Key, Francis Scott:
1779-1843. Prominent lawyer, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He
also served as a Sunday school teacher and Vice-President for the American
Sunday School Union founded by Benjamin Rush. Wrote "The Power of Literature
and Its Connection with Religion" (1834) and a posthumous collection
"Poems" (1857), which contains several hymns. Best known work is "The Star
Spangled Banner,” which was set to the tune of an English drinking song,
"To Anacreon in Heaven."
Key lived in Georgetown when the War of 1812 broke out. The British had entered Chesapeake Bay to invade and capture Washington, and they set fire to the Capitol and the White House. The flames were visible even in Baltimore, 40 miles away.
At dawn, a thunderstorm came which kept the fires from spreading. More buildings were set afire during the day, and again a thunderstorm broke loose. It took more time than they anticipated but, having accomplished what they set out to do, the British troops returned to their ships in and around the Chesapeake Bay. They were moving on to Baltimore.
In the days following the attack on Washington, word soon reached Francis Scott Key that the British had arrested Dr. William Beanes for unfriendly acts toward the soldiers. Beanes was an elderly and much loved town physician.
Key was sent by President James Madison to obtain the release of Dr. Beanes. Following negotiations, the British agreed to release the doctor as a prisoner. However, the two were detained on the ship so as not to warn the Americans while the Royal Navy attempted to bombard Fort McHenry.
Once the British landed, they engaged battle which continued for 25 hours. They fired rockets and bombs at Fort McHenry, the main defense of Baltimore harbor; but they were not able to capture the city. The Americans had sunk 22 vessels making a close approach by the British not possible. From special small boats the British fired the new Congreve rockets that traced wobbly arcs of red flame across the sky. That evening the cannonading stopped and all was quiet; but at about 1 a.m. the next day, the British fleet roared back to life. They lit the rainy night sky with grotesque fireworks while the fort's defenders bravely withstood the bombardment. Though tired and out-powered, they were not about to give up.
Key, Colonel Skinner, and Dr. Beanes watched in angst as the battle ensued. As long as the shelling continued, they knew Fort McHenry had not surrendered. But long before daylight, silence overtook the night. The British had abandoned their assault on Baltimore. Their heavy casualties forced them to retreat.
Waiting and hoping in the darkness of a predawn, Key saw something flapping high and strong in the breeze--IT WAS THE FLAG! THE FLAG WAS STILL THERE!
Thankfulness filled the deep heart of Key, and he began to write on the back of a letter he had in his pocket. In sailing back to Baltimore, he composed more lines; and in his lodgings at the Indian Queen Hotel he finished the poem. Judge J. H. Nicholson, his brother-in-law, took it to a printer and copies were circulated around Baltimore under the title "Defense of Fort McHenry." It was printed in a newspaper for the first time in the Baltimore Patriot, then in papers as far away as Georgia and New Hampshire. In October a Baltimore actor sang Key's new song in a public performance and called it "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The song slowly grew in popularity and was well known and used by both sides during the Civil war. In later years it became very popular with the military and was used as an "unofficial" national anthem. During the baseball World Series in 1917, it was sung in honor of the fighting forces in WWI, moving everyone in the audience. After that, it was repeated for every game. The American Congress proclaimed it as the national anthem in 1931, 116 years after it was first written. Hymn of Grace-Lord, with Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee
http://www.gardenofpraise.com/images/fskey.jpg
Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)
"The Star-Spangled Banner." Baltimore: Thomas Carr, 1814 Printed sheet music Enlarged Music Division Purchase, 1941 (29.1) http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm065.html
Cover of sheet music for "The Star-Spangled Banner" [words by Francis Scott Key], transcribed for piano by Ch. Voss, Philadelphia: G. Andre & Co., 1862 Source The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Good Old Songs We Used to Sing, '61 to '65, by Osbourne H. Oldroyd - http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/21566. Date Music score cover - 1862 Author No image credit This image is taken from a public domain work from Project Gutenberg which is not copyrighted in the United States,
The Star-spangled Cross and the pure field of white
Is the banner we give to the breeze:
'Tis an emblem of Freedom unfurled in the right,
O'er our homes and our lands and our seas.
We'll stand by the Cross and the pure field of white,
While a shred's left to float in the air:
Our trust is in God, who can help us in fight,
And defend those who ask Him in prayer.
For years have we
cringed to the unlifted red,
For years have demanded our right;
Our voice shouts defiance--our trust is in God,
And the strong arm that gives us our might.
Our hills and our
vales with the death-shriek may ring,
And our forests may swarm with the foe:
But still to the breeze our proud banner we'll fling,
And to Victory or Death we will go. by
Subaltern
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
provides thousands of American flags to schools, governmental bodies, military establishments
Link and Use: Flags, GIF Animations, and graphics available in the 3DFlags.com gallery may be used free of charge if the user gives credit to 3DFlags.com. If the graphic(s) are used on a web page, it must provide credit and a link to www.3DFlags.com. Text giving credit to 3DFlags.com must be easily readable and appear on every page or screen where a flag graphic or animation is used. Free usage rights are governed by the 3DFlags.com Link and Use License Agreement. http://www.3dflags.com/world/american/national_flag/classic_waving_clip_art.html The Star spangled banner:national song (music cover). Stackpole, 1861. Prints and Photographs Division
Patriotism is as much a virtue as justice, and is as
necessary for the support of societies as natural affection is for the support
of families.
Benjamin Rush, letter to His Fellow Countrymen: On Patriotism,
1773
Old Glory.....Long May She Wave!
The American Flag
Joseph Rodman Drake
When Freedom, from her
mountain height,
Unfurled her standard to the air,
She tore the azure robe of night,
And set the stars of glory there!
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
And striped its pure, celestial white
With streakings of the morning light;
Then, from
his mansion in the sun,
She called her eagle-bearer down,
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land!
Majestic monarch of the cloud!
Who rear'st aloft thy regal form,
To hear the tempest trumping loud,
And see the lightning lances driven,
When strive the warriors of the storm,
And rolls the thunder-drum of heaven,—
Child of the Sun! to see thee 'tis given
To guard the banner of the free,
To hover in the sulfur smoke,
To ward away the battle-stroke,
And bid its blendings shine afar,
Like rainbows on the cloud of war,
The harbingers of victory!
Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fly,
The sign of hope and triumph high!
When speaks the signal-trumpet tone,
And the long line comes gleaming on,
Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,
Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,
Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn
To where thy sky-born glories burn,
And, as his springing steps advance,
Catch war and vengeance from the glance.
And when the cannon-mouthings loud
Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,
And gory sabers rise and fall
Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall,
Then shall thy meteor glances flow,
And cowering foes shall shrink beneath
Each gallant arm that strikes below
That lovely messenger of death.
Flag of the seas! on ocean wave
Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave;
When death, careering on the gale,
Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,
And frighted waves rush wildly back
Before the broadside's reeling rack,
Each dying wanderer of the sea
Shall look at once to heaven and thee,
And smile to see thy splendors fly
In triumph o'er his closing eye.
Flag of the free heart's hope and home,
By angel hands to valor given!
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven.
Forever float that standard sheet!
Where breathes the foe but falls before us,
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us!
Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fly,
The sign of hope and triumph high!
When speaks the signal-trumpet tone,
And the long line comes gleaming on,
Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,
Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,
Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn
To where thy sky-born glories burn,
And, as his springing steps advance,
Catch war and vengeance from the glance.
And when the cannon-mouthings loud
Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,
And gory sabers rise and fall
Like shoots of flame on midnight's pall,
Then shall thy meteor glances flow,
And cowering foes shall shrink beneath
Each gallant arm that strikes below
That lovely messenger of death.
Flag of the seas! on ocean wave
Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave;
When death, careering on the gale,
Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,
And frighted waves rush wildly back
Before the broadside's reeling rack,
Each dying wanderer of the sea
Shall look at once to heaven and thee,
And smile to see thy splendors fly
In triumph o'er his closing eye.
Flag of the free heart's hope and home,
By angel hands to valor given!
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven.
Forever float that standard sheet!
Where breathes the foe but falls before us,
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us!
We give our heads and our hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one Flag. ---American flag salute by Colonel Balch,1889, used on Flag Day for New York City kindergarteners. http://history.vineyard.net/pdgech4.htm
God Save the Flag
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Washed in the blood of the brave and the blooming,
Snatched from the altars of insolent foes,
Burning with star-fires, but never consuming,
Flash its broad ribbons of lily and rose.
Vainly the prophets of Baal
would rend it,
Vainly his worshippers pray for its fall;
Thousands have died for it, millions defend it,
Emblem of justice and mercy to all;
Justice that reddens the sky with her terrors,
Mercy that comes with her white-handed train,
Soothing all passions, redeeming all errors,
Sheathing the sabre and breaking the chain.
Borne on the deluge of all usurpations,
Drifted our Ark o'er the desolate seas,
Bearing the rainbow of hope to the nations,
Torn from the storm-cloud and flung to the breeze!
God bless the Flag and its loyal defenders,
While its broad folds o'er the battle-field wave,
Till the dim star-wreath rekindle its splendors,
Washed from its stains in the blood of the brave!
Evacuation of New York by the British,
November 25, 1783. Wood engraving
Reproduction number: LC-USZC4-1306 (color film copy
transparency)
The American flag on magazine covers,
Smithsonian collection. 
The Katy and Peter Gwillim Kreitler Collection
http://americanhistory.si.edu/1942/search/magazine_search.asp?mode=3&theme_id=22
- FOLDS OF THE FLAG:
- In the Armed Forces of the United States, at the ceremony of retreat the flag is lowered, folded in a triangle fold and kept under watch throughout the night as a tribute to our nation's honored dead. The next morning it is brought out and, at the ceremony of reveille, run aloft as a symbol of our belief in the resurrection of the body.
BODY: The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life. The second fold is a symbol of our belief in the eternal life. The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world. The fourth fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in times of war for His divine guidance. The fifth fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong." The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The seventh fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic. The eighth fold is a tribute to the one who entered in to the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor mother, for whom it flies on mother's day. The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood; for it has been through their faith, love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great have been molded. The tenth fold is a tribute to father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born. The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost. POSTLUDE:
After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington and the sailors and marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today.
from the US Air Force Academy http://www.airforcewives.com/index.php/content/view/960/331/
