Two hundred years ago, Francis Scott Key, a Maryland-born lawyer and amateur poet, wrote a poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships throughout the night of September 13-14, 1814 during the War of 1812. The Star-Spangled Banner, the then American flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes, was seen still flying the next morning. The poem made into the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner" which became the national anthem of the United States.
On September 11, 2014, Fort McHenry hosted a ceremony where the National September 11 Flag, a patchwork stitched onto the flag that flew above the rubble at the site of the World Trade Center attacks, was raised. Threads from the original Star-Spangled Banner that soared above Fort McHenry in 1814 were sewn onto a patch and attached to the National September 11 Flag in June 2012.
The featured postcard shows the present flag of the United States, hoisted by two firetrucks at the annual Las Vegas Firefighters 9/11 Tribute and March in downtown Las Vegas on September 11, 2014.
Today on September 13, 2014, USPS issued a The War of 1812: Fort McHenry forever stamp, the third in the series, to commemorate of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 that ultimately helped forge our national identity and gave us our national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
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