Star Spangled Banner

As Smithsonian scientists and historians take on the monumental task of painstakingly cleaning and restoring the 34-by-30-foot wool and cotton flag that flew over Fort McHenry on the night of Sept. 13-14, 1814, the original manuscript of the song that it inspired, "The Star-Spangled Banner," will also be examined and subjected to space-age conservation methods by experts at the National Archives.The manuscript, which has been in the collection of the Maryland Historical Society since 1953, is the earliest extant copy of the poem that Francis Scott Key wrote while watching the bombardment of the fort from a British truce vessel.

Mission: To preserve the star-shaped fort, associated buildings, archaeology and landscapes as a perpetual national monument and as a shrine of the birthplace of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the nation's anthem, and to interpret the fort's military history in the defense of Baltimore during the War of 1812 for generations to come. The survival of the fort's giant 15-star flag in the "dawn's early light" of Sept. 14, 1814, after an unsuccessful British attack, inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem.

WASHINGTON -- The stars droop. The stripes sag. Whole swatches of fabric have been removed by souvenir seekers. It may be known to history as Old Glory, but right now the original Star-Spangled Banner is an old mess of cotton and wool, and none too pretty, either.But not for long. The Smithsonian Institution is about to begin one of the great restoration projects of the age, an $18 million undertaking designed to take a flag that cost $405.90 when it was sewn in 1813 and make it fit for the dawn's early light well into the next millennium.

WASHINGTON -- The bright stars have faded to a dirty beige. The broad stripes are covered with patches. And the dawn's early light would only damage the 185-year-old cotton-and-wool banner even more.But rest assured. As the nation's capital celebrates the Fourth of July, the 34-by-30-foot Star-Spangled Banner is still there, and crowds are flocking to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History to see it.What they encounter is sometimes surprising: a team of conservators, outfitted in the teal scrubs and white face masks of surgeons, working in a low-lighted, climate-controlled laboratory to preserve the flag that inspired our national anthem.

The oldest known version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- a 175-year-old manuscript in Francis Scott Key's handwriting -- will be preserved in a new state-of-the-art, space-age encasement thanks to a $180,000 grant to the Maryland Historical Society from the White House "Save America's Treasures" program.Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the MHS grant and 61 others for a total of $30 million as she set out on a four-day tour of national treasures in the Southwest, including the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, Colo.

Peabody Children's Chorus. June 22 at the Peabody Institute, N. Charles St., and June 23 at Peabody's Towson Branch for ages 6-18 in four levels of vocal ensembles. Students in chorus receive age-appropriate vocal training, study art and folk music and work on music skills. Call for appointment, 410-659-8125.Towson Dinner Theatre. "Nifty '50s Revue." 12: 30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the theater, 100 E. Chesapeake Ave. Bring a 1950s-style song and sheet music. Also be prepared to dance and read.

Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" with a flourish in a small, firm, readable hand with the fat, round O's that have launched thousands of Orioles games over the years.For nearly half a century, Key's manuscript, 32 lines in ink brown with age that fill an ordinary letter page, has been sealed in an airtight bronze case at the Maryland Historical Society.Since it was bought in 1953, the document has never left the society's museum. It is the most prized -- and beloved -- of all the 3 million or 4 million items in the collection.

At first, it sounded irresistible: a 10-year old girl determined to sing the national anthem at every major league ballpark and set a world record.How precocious. And ingenious. See the country, catch 30 baseball games and make a little history along the way. Why wait for puberty when you've got a shot at immortality, huh?Needless to say, we were impressed.But that was before we found out that this particular singing feat isn't singular after all. Turns out Jamie Lynn Bence, a fourth-grader from Hartland, Wis., who is in town to sing the anthem before tonight's game at Camden Yards, isn't the only one trying to belt out "The Star-Spangled Banner" in every ballpark.

WASHINGTON - Its seams are tattered and its colors soiled, yet even in the murky light at the Museum of American History here, the flag that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner" has a special glow. But that glow is beginning to dim.Dust, light, heat, humidity and pollution are slowly ravaging a piece of American history - a very big piece that weighs 150 pounds and measures 1,020 square feet.Halfway across the continent, in the nation's heartland, another storied symbol of the past awaits attention.

Timonium Dinner Theatre. "Gypsy." 6 p.m. Wednesday at the theater, 9603 Deereco Road. Needed are adults and children who can sing and dance. All roles are paid. Take sheet music, photo, and resume. Call 410-560-1113.Star-Spangled Banner Singing Contest. Competition for singers in all vocal ranges at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, 844 E. Pratt St. Each singer will sing the first verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Winner receives cash prize and invitation to sing the national anthem at Defender's Day NTC celebration at Fort McHenry Sept.

FRIDAY STAR-SPANGLED BANNER WEEKEND: Defenders' Day is celebrated with a parade, War of 1812 living history re-enactors, a patriotic band concert, musket firing and fireworks. The weekend-long festivities start with the parade from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. from the Star-Spangled Banner Museum, 844 E. Pratt St., to Locust Point. Saturday and Sunday events take place at Fort McHenry, 2400 E. Fort Ave. Park admission is $7 for adults, free for children. Saturday evening activities are free.

For those who love Maryland's place in American history, there is no more precious artifact than the oversized American flag that flew triumphantly over Fort McHenry in the dawn's early light on the morning of Sept. 14, 1814, after a futile British assault that marked one of the turning points in the War of 1812. The flag and the fort were center stage when Francis Scott Key framed "The Star-Spangled Banner" a song that much later became our vocally challenging national anthem. Major George Armistead, who commanded the American force at Fort McHenry, commissioned Mary Pickersgill, a Baltimore flag maker, to sew a flag "so large that the British will have no difficulty seeing it from a distance."

Washington - In near darkness, it appears almost as an apparition. Like reliquary, the tattered flag is displayed behind glass in a new temperature- and light-controlled chamber, the bones not of a saint but of a nation. So these are the broad stripes and, once, bright stars. So this is the flag that withstood the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air. So this is the star-spangled banner that yet waved after a night of bombing, its survival signaling that the nation, too, had survived and inspiring Francis Scott Key to write what would become the national anthem.

WASHINGTON - The Star-Spangled Banner has a snazzy new home - and it's already the talk of the town. When the National Museum of American History reopens tomorrow after a two-year, $85 million renovation, visitors will finally get a glimpse at what museum officials are calling a "dramatic transformation" of the 44-year-old building. The most stunning evidence of this is a five-story-high, skylit atrium that greets museumgoers as they enter from the National Mall. The airy lobby is dominated by a large steel structure in the shape of a waving flag, consisting of 960 reflective tiles, and a wide, futuristic-looking glass staircase that updates the museum's core.

You wouldn't know by watching Zoe Katz rattle off a speech detailing the history behind the national anthem that she was given the task about three minutes before. But the 10-year-old handled the presentation with grace and ease during the school's annual Star-Spangled Banner celebration. Zoe, a fifth-grader at Running Brook Elementary, acknowledged that she was a bundle of nerves. "It was my first time saying something in front of such a big group," she said. "I think I did OK." Students at the school have been learning the words and the history behind the national anthem for weeks in preparation for the celebration.

A coin commemorating Maryland's role in the War of 1812 and Baltimore as the birthplace of "The Star-Spangled Banner" could soon be minted, officials announced yesterday. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, sponsor of the Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentenntial Commemorative Coin Act, said the coin would be minted in 2012 to mark the 200th anniversary of the war with the British. "This coin is for all of our veterans. It is a wonderful way to honor the dedication of our military personnel of today and yesterday," Ruppersberger said during a news conference at the Maryland Historical Society.

A bill to create a trail commemorating War of 1812 battle sites in Maryland was signed into law yesterday by President Bush. The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail was approved as part of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, according to a news release from the House Committee on Natural Resources. The measure also creates a 175-mile "Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area" that includes historic sites such as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Thomas Jefferson's home of Monticello.

Washington-- --No bright lights. No more exposure to dirt and debris from outdoors. But much more information about the flag that flew over Baltimore's Fort McHenry in 1814 and why it's such an important piece of U.S. history. That's the way visitors will see the original Star-Spangled Banner when it goes back on public display next year as the centerpiece of the National Museum of American History on the National Mall. After being out of view since September 2006, the flag will be featured in a new Star-Spangled Banner gallery when the museum at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue Northwest reopens after an $85 million renovation.

Sept. 14 1814 Francis Scott Key was inspired to write his poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing how Fort McHenry had endured British bombardment during the War of 1812.

CEREMONY DEFENDERS' DAY Tomorrow evening, in honor of Defenders' Day -- the commemoration of the Fort McHenry bombardment and the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- a procession of War of 1812 soldier and citizen re-enactors will start from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and head to the Inner Harbor. A ceremony at the Harborplace Amphitheatre will kick off the Star-Spangled Banner Weekend. Entertainment continues Saturday and Sunday and features military-encampment demonstrations, musket-firing demonstrations, boat rides aboard the Pride of Baltimore II, a fireworks ceremony and more.