![]() But in August 1814 Great Britain surprised the United States by marching toward Washington, D.C. forces in the region were sent to defend that city against attack. Key now changed his own position on the war and enlisted in the militia of Washington, D.C., serving as an aide to General Walter Smith.ĭuring the summer of 1814, Americans leaders believed that the British would attack Baltimore, an important East Coast shipping center with a large population. The British went on the offensive and seemed likely to invade several areas of the United States. But in 1814 the nature of the war shifted when the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815) ended and Great Britain was able to devote more troops and resources to the conflict in North America. The British burn Washington, D.C.ĭuring the first two years of the war, Key sided with members of the Federalist political party, who opposed the Republican administration of President James Madison (1751-1836 see biographical entry) and did not support the war effort. All of these factors led to the United States declaring war with Great Britain in June 1812. In addition, Great Britain had been impressing American sailors (forcing them into the British navy) it claimed were British citizens, and some Americans also thought that the British were involved in stirring up trouble with the Native Americans in the western territories. The war in Europe between Great Britain and its allies and France, under the leadership of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), had led to trade restrictions that many in the United States felt were unfair. An amateur poet, he wrote a hymn called "Lord, With Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee" that was still being sung nearly two centuries later.ĭuring the first decade of the nineteenth century, tensions mounted between Great Britain and the United States. Key also sang with the Georgetown Glee Club. ![]() John's Episcopal Church he was a lay reader (a person who is not a minister but takes part in the service by reading from the Bible) and at one time even considered becoming a minister. He had a successful law career and also was very active at St. At that time, Georgetown had five thousand residents and was located only a few miles from the nation's capital. In 1803 Key moved his law practice and his family to Georgetown, which is now a part of Washington, D.C. The next year he married Mary Tayloe Lloyd, the daughter of an army colonel, with whom he would have eleven children. Supreme Court, the nation's highest court-Key set up a law practice in Frederick in 1801. Taney (1777-1864)-who would one day become chief justice of the U.S. (In the early nineteenth century, those who wished to become lawyers underwent a period of training with an already established lawyer or judge rather than attending law school.) With his friend Roger B. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1796, Key studied law under Judge J. Key grew to be a slender young man with dark blue eyes and a passionate nature who enjoyed horseback riding.Īfter graduating from St. His father, John Ross Key, hadįought with distinction in the Revolutionary War (1775-83). Key was born on the family's twenty-eight-hundred-acre estate, Terra Rubra, located near the town of Frederick, Maryland (about forty miles north of Washington, D.C.). ![]() Grows up to become a lawyerįrancis Scott Key's grandfather arrived in the United States from England about 1720, settling in Maryland's Frederick County (now known as Carroll County). It later gained popularity around the country, and in 1931 it became the national anthem of the United States. flag still flying after a bombardment that lasted twenty-four hours, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter. He only gained fame, however, after he wrote a poem that later became "The Star-Spangled Banner." Key was a witness to the British bombing of Fort McHenry. Born AugFrederick County (now Carroll County), Marylandįrancis Scott Key was a successful attorney who served during the last year of the War of 1812 in the militia (small armies made up of troops residing in a particular state) of Washington, D.C.
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