"LAND OF THE FREE"

"There Was A Lawyer Once....Who Lived In Baltimore........................His Name Was Francis Scott Key ...The Colonies Were Engaged With ......................The Most Vicious Conflict ..........With The Mother Country...Britain
Because Of This Conflict?... They Had Accumulated Prisoners On Both Sides.......And The American Government Sent Francis Scott Key Out By Boat.... To The British To Negotiate For The Release Of The American Prisoners

The British Were Holding About 1,000 Prisoners In The Hull Of Their Ships
And Francis Scott Key Went Out To The Ships To See If They Could Make A Mutual Exchange...And Both Sides Reached A Conclusion That This Could Be Arranged....Francis Went Down To The Bottom Of The Ships And Told The Men They Were To Be Freed

Back On Deck... The British Admiral Said To Francis..."We Have A Slight Problem"..."We Will Release These Men...But It Will Be Academic After Tonight"...(He Pointed Out To Sea So Francis Could See The Hundreds Of Ships... At The Ready... To Bombard Fort Henry).... And Said..."Either You Take Down That Flag Or We Will Destroy The Entire Complex

Francis Told Them That This Was Not Going To Happen....So The British Commenced With Their Bombardment
As The Night Went By?..The British Commander Could Not Understand How That... "Flag Was Still There?"
The Flag Was In Tatters And It Was Hit So Many Times.... That It Was Impossible For It To Be Still There

What The British Didnt Know Was..... Indeed... The Pole Was Broken...But It Was Human Strength That Was Holding It Up There...For All To See...Still Waving
For...As Each Man Died?...Another Took His Place Holding Up That Flag

This Is What Inspired Francis Scott Key... To Pen The Words To The National Anthem

And To Those Who Wish To Change This Country Or To Cause Us Harm?...Always Remember

We Will Always Remain.............."The Land of The Free"