Many people don't know what the national anthem is really about. The national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner" was written in the year of 1812. The writer was a lawyer named Francis Scott. During the War of 1812 Francis Scott boarded a ship close to Baltimore, Maryland. Francis was asked by the president James Madison to persuade two officers that were on the ship to let out an American prisoner. He did the job and managed to get the prisoner out. The officers had a feeling that Jame had heard their plan for war, so they kept him overnight until the battle was over. When he woke up the next morning he saw the American flag up still in the air. The Americans had won the battle. This inspired him to write a poem. The poem was called " The
