[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 130 (Thursday, September 11, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5554-S5555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I wish to recognize the bicentennial 
of our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, and of Defenders Day. 
I thank Senator Cardin, my partner in the Senate, for submitting a 
resolution to commemorate this occasion. Defenders Day, which inspired 
our national anthem, is momentous in the history of our Nation, the 
State of Maryland, and the City of Baltimore.
  Two hundred years ago, the brave City of Baltimore led the way in the 
War of 1812 defending our Nation and holding the American line. Our 
troops stopped the British advance and claimed a much-needed victory 
for Baltimore and for the Nation.
  Some call the War of 1812 the forgotten war. I believe it was the war 
that forged our Nation. As the United States entered the war, it was a 
loose collection of States. As we emerged from it, we were on the path 
to becoming a true Nation.
  It was also during this war at the Battle of Baltimore that we gained 
an enduring icon of national patriotism in our National anthem, 
inspired by the naval battle at Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry is now a 
revered National monument and a historic shrine.
  The Battle of Baltimore was a rousing victory in the dark days 
following the British attack on our Capitol. The British had just 
burned Washington, setting our Capitol and White House ablaze, and 
hurting America's morale.
  Less than a month later, the British sent a fleet of ships toward 
Baltimore sailing up the Bay to break America at the war's frontline in 
what is known today as Patterson Park, but first they had to get past 
Fort McHenry.
  The British bombed the Fort for twenty-five consecutive hours. 
Nearby, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key watched from a ship 
where he was being held. When the smoke cleared on the morning of 
September 14, 1814, he saw the fifteen stars and fifteen stripes of the 
American flag streaming over the Fort. He was so thrilled that despite 
the bombs bursting in the air, ``our flag was still there.'' He went on 
to write the lines of the song that later became our National anthem, 
the Star Spangled Banner.
  That day the line was held in Baltimore in our young country's war 
against the world's most powerful Nation. Fort McHenry has made 
history, and Fort McHenry has seen history. I am proud to represent 
Fort McHenry and Baltimore, and I encourage the passage of this 
resolution commemorating Fort McHenry, Defenders Day, and the Star 
Spangled Banner.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I rise today to commemorate the 
bicentennial anniversary of the War of 1812's Battle of Baltimore. The 
State of Maryland is proud of its contributions to this ``Second War 
for Independence,'' which reinforced United States sovereignty and gave 
birth to our national anthem. While Star-Spangled 200 events are 
already underway in my home State, I wish to spend a few minutes to 
discuss the War of 1812 and the story of Francis Scott Key's poem 
``Defense of Fort M'Henry.''
  A generation after the United States declared its independence from 
Great Britain, the mercantilist ties between the two countries were not 
fully severed. The British impressed American merchant seamen, enforced 
illegal and unfair trade regulations, colluded with certain Native 
American tribes to attack frontier settlements, and attempted to block 
westward expansion. The United States declared war to reassert autonomy 
over its own affairs, establish free trade, protect sailors' rights, 
and ensure that our Nation could prosper from sea to shining sea.
  President James Madison eloquently outlined these justifications more 
than 200 years ago when he called on ``all the good people of the 
United States, as they love their country, as they value the precious 
heritage derived from the virtue and valor of their fathers . . . . . 
[to] exert themselves in preserving order, in promoting concord, in 
maintaining the authority and efficacy of the laws, and in supporting 
and invigorating all the measures which may be adopted by the 
constituted authorities for obtaining a speedy, a just, and an 
honorable peace.''
  The contributions of the U.S. Navy were instrumental in repelling the 
British during the War of 1812. The U.S. Navy barely had a dozen 
warships compared to the hundreds of ships comprising the British 
fleet. British ships were undermanned, however, while well-trained and 
talented officers and seamen took command of American ships. These men 
were largely from coastal States, like Maryland, and

[[Page S5555]]

were accustomed to seafaring. Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry 
took on the British Navy on Lake Erie in 1813 with a scrappy fleet of 
light ships. Even though his force was seemingly decimated by the 
British, Master Commandant Perry resorted to paddling a rowboat with a 
banner that read ``Don't Give up the Ship.'' He then boarded the USS 
Niagara, double-loaded the carronades, and sailed directly into the 
British line, ultimately claiming victory.
  The following summer, in 1814, the British Navy sailed up the 
Chesapeake Bay to attack our Nation's capital and seize the valuable 
port city of Baltimore. The British dealt heavy blows to Washington, 
DC, setting both the U.S. Capitol and the Executive Mansion--which we 
now know as the White House--ablaze. British forces then moved toward 
Baltimore. Citizens of Baltimore, including free Blacks, quickly 
mobilized to protect their city. Barricades stretching more than one 
mile long were constructed to protect the harbor, hulls were sunk to 
impede navigation, and a chain of masts was erected across the harbor 
entrance. When the British fleet approached Baltimore at North Point, 
Marylanders fought the British Army and helped repulse the British Navy 
from Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. It is important to 
note that American forces during the Battle of North Point were 
volunteer militia, heavily outnumbered by the highly trained British 
infantry, but they managed to delay the British forces long enough for 
10,000 American reinforcements to arrive, preventing a land attack 
against Baltimore. Following 25 hours of intense British naval 
bombardment at Fort McHenry by more than 1,600 cannonballs, the 
American defenders refused to yield, and the British were forced to end 
the Chesapeake Campaign and withdraw.
  During the British bombardment, American lawyer Francis Scott Key, 
who was being held on board an American flag-of-truce vessel in 
Baltimore Harbor, took notice of the American flag still flying atop 
Fort McHenry. Key realized then that the Americans had survived the 
battle and had stopped the enemy advance. He was so moved by the sight 
of the American flag flying following the horrific bombardment, he 
composed a poem called ``The Defense of Fort M'Henry,'' which was 
published in the Baltimore Patriot & Advertiser newspaper later that 
year. This poem, and later the song, inspired love of country among the 
American people and not only helped usher in the ``era of good 
feelings'' immediately after the war, but became a timeless reminder of 
American resolve. ``The Star Spangled Banner'' officially became our 
national anthem in 1931. The flag that flew over Fort McHenry and 
inspired this anthem is now a national treasure on display at the 
Smithsonian Institution, a very short distance from where we are today.
  The War of 1812 confirmed the legitimacy of the Revolution and served 
as a critical test for the U.S. Constitution and newly established 
democratic government. Our young Nation battled against the largest, 
most powerful military on the Earth at that time and emerged with an 
enhanced standing among the countries of the world, both militarily and 
diplomatically. The U.S. economy was freed of its dependence on British 
goods, which unleashed domestic manufacturing and spawned the 
industrial revolution. The U.S. Navy proved its worth and the U.S. 
Congress rewarded the Navy with funding for a permanent, more expansive 
fleet. A new generation of Americans too young to remember Lord 
Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, which effectively ended the 
Revolutionary War, and an older generation proud of defending American 
independence twice in their lifetimes, were inspired by Francis Scott 
Key's words, which embody our universal feelings of patriotism and 
courage.
  I am proud that Maryland will lead the Star-Spangled 200 celebration, 
a 3-year celebration that began with Baltimore's ``Sailabration'' in 
June 2012. The Navy's Blue Angels treated more than 1.5 million 
spectators to dazzling air shows; the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 
premiered the ``Overture for 2012,''' composed by Philip Glass; and 
forty-six tall ships and naval warships from around the world anchored 
in the Inner Harbor, open for public tours. Through the course of 2014, 
Maryland will host numerous events along the Star-Spangled Banner 
National Historic Trail to commemorate the Chesapeake Campaign, and at 
the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine to celebrate the 
bicentennial of the Battle of Baltimore. This weekend, the Star-
Spangled Spectacular celebration will conclude with a fireworks display 
over Fort McHenry that Francis Scott Key would be proud of. These 
ceremonies are an opportunity to showcase to the world that Maryland is 
an exceptional place with a rich, colorful, and important history.
  I am also proud that the U.S. Senate unanimously adopted a resolution 
I sponsored in the 112th Congress--S. Res. 388--to mark the beginning 
of the bicentennial of the War, to celebrate the heroism of the 
American people during the conflict, and to recognize the various 
organizations involved in the bicentennial celebration, including the 
U.S. Armed Forces, the National Park Service, and the Maryland War of 
1812 Bicentennial Commission.
  The Senate may soon consider another resolution I have sponsored, 
along with my colleagues, the senior Senator from Maryland (Ms. 
Mikulski) and the junior Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker), to 
commemorate the bicentennial of the Battle of Baltimore and the 
creation of the Star-Spangled Banner, which officially became our 
national anthem in 1931. As we recognize all of these ongoing efforts 
during this commemorative period, I encourage all Americans to remember 
the sacrifice of those who gave their lives to defend our Nation's 
freedom and democracy in its infancy, and to join in the bicentennial 
celebration of our victory in the War of 1812.

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