Key was an aide to General Walter Smith and had been at the Battle of Bladensburg. While most of the soldiers that fought near Washington were called to defend Baltimore, Key may have not had the circumstances he needed to be inspired to prose were it not for something that happened not long ago and not far away.
It is because of the capture of Dr. Beanes in Upper Marlborough (see the "brief account of the Burning of Washington") that we now have our National Anthem. For it was up to the official in charge of prisoner exchange, Mr. Skinner, and an assistant, Francis Key, to negotiate Dr. Beane's release.
These two took a small ship to meet with British officials aboard their ship. Key was to witness the ships attacking Baltimore from a British position and psuedo-captivity. The British did not want him reporting back to his superiors about current actions and positions so Key and Skinner were detained. Key's anxious feelings pressed out the words we now have.
The tune Key had running thru his head that night aboard ship was a common tavern song known to everyone, including the British. He busied himself that evening by penning out the words he felt. He made remarkably few corrections on his original draft. He had even written another song to that tune, Anacreon in Heaven, before.
Shamefully few Americans know the words of even the first verse. Most don't even know more than one verse exists. Perhaps this is due to general impatience and the typical "short shrift" given to such reflection when the song is played.
Why it is used as the harbinger of "sportz" events (especially when sports today is simply a corporate business) is unknown to this author. Employees didn't open the day at Sperry Univac with the Star Spangled Banner. Your author knows of no other businesses (entertainment or other) that open with it. We all know many TV stations used to close the day with it, but few now do.
The Star Spangled Banner is not the only patriotic song which people have forgotten the verses of. Ms Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" has suffered a likewise fate. These words, with considerable Christian influence, may not be appreciated by non-Christian Americans. For Christians, however, there is no song that better interweaves patriotism and faith.
Some of Key's statements in the original Star Spangled Banner may also be somewhat inappropriate now. We don't think of the War of 1812 as "bloody", but Key's phrase "...their blood shall wash out their foul footstep's pollution.." would make us think different. Certainly men were shot and wrent asunder by exploding bombs. Earlier in the war, a Marylander suffered a direct hit from a rocket (a very rare occurrence). Yet the war was, from today's perspective, very "polite" and not "bloody".
Key's poem was soon made public as a hand-bill and it's popularity exploded from there.
After the British failure at the battle of Baltimore in September 1814, the British tired of the war and expense. In just three months, on Christmas Eve, they signed a treaty in Ghent, Belgium. It took a while to cross the sea and be ratified by our Congress, but in February of 1815 the war was over.
The Star Spangled Banner was not a National Anthem for a long time. Efforts after World War One spurred legislation to make it official. President Hoover finally signed the bill into law and we had an official anthem.
Oh, by the way, Dr. Beanes WAS released.
The issue of slavery is uncomfortably mentioned by Key in the phrase "..the hireling and slave...". Sadly, the issue of slavery, left uncorrected by the American Revolution (about when Key was born), remained to become American's unique embarassment during the War of 1812. Nearly every other nation in the world had, by then, abolished slavery. Here was the newest nation fighting for it's life and respect, while keeping perhaps the most primative and darkest social practice.
In both the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the British had posted broadsides that told Negroes that they could find freedom and refuge with the British forces, which was mostly true. They would find little more social respect and little more economic opportunity, but at least they would legally no longer be "slaves". Alas, most Negro slaves were illiterate and could not read the notice. But word got around.
While it can certainly be said that not all slaves in America were treated badly (indeed, some faired better than some whites trying to live on their own), the British offer was tempting to many. But the number of Negro slaves responding to the offer was far less than the British expected.
The issue of slavery increased as a popular political issue, especially after the war. The African nation of Liberia was created by those thinking that moving Negroes back to Africa was the best thing to do. Liberia's capital, Monrovia, is named after the US president that followed Madison; James Monroe.
After the War of 1812, slavery continued in the growing US as did the controversy. It became quite a hot topic when new states were brought into the USA; would they allow slavery (be "slave states") or not? Different political approaches were tried as some pushed for more slave states and others fought to eradicate the practice. Just six years after the end of the War of 1812 came the Compromise of 1820. Some other legislative attempts were made in succeeding years (Missouri Compromise, Kansas-Nebraska Act, etc.), but they were all just "band-aids". Finally the American Civil War brought slavery to an end (legally). We are still working on the practical end of it to this day; and getting better all the time.