The melody for "The Star-Spangled Banner" was not original but an English tune called "The Anacreontic Song." It was the official song for a London-based amateur musicians' club. This well-known melody was frequently repurposed for new lyrics, a common practice at the time for creating so-called "broadside ballads."
The rarely-sung third verse contains the line, "No refuge could save the hireling and slave." While sometimes seen as a generic insult to British forces, historical context suggests it may specifically target the corps of escaped African American slaves armed by the British to fight against the United States during the War of 1812.
Despite being celebrated as a patriot, Francis Scott Key was a slave owner his entire life. As District Attorney for Washington D.C., he was a "tireless foe of abolitionism," famously prosecuting a man merely for possessing anti-slavery pamphlets, complicating the anthem's "land of the free" message.
The massive flag that inspired the anthem was not flying during the bombardment of Fort McHenry. A smaller, more durable "storm flag" was used in the battle. The huge, iconic flag was raised at dawn only after the fighting ceased, a detail that contradicts the popular myth of it enduring the bombardment.
While largely overlooked in Britain and the U.S., the War of 1812 is central to Canadian identity. The successful defense against American invasions, which U.S. leaders like Thomas Jefferson wrongly predicted would be a "mere matter of marching," marks a key distinctive moment in the nation's history.
During the Chesapeake campaign, British commanders made it policy to offer freedom to runaway slaves. They armed the men and formed them into a special unit, the "Corps of Colonial Marines." This strategy terrified white American slaveholders and provided the British with crucial intelligence and manpower.
After the War of 1812, Britain refused to return thousands of escaped slaves. Many from the "Corps of Colonial Marines" were resettled in special villages in Trinidad. To this day, their descendants are known as "the Americans," a living legacy of this little-known historical chapter.
A primary objection to adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner" was its musical difficulty. The melody demands a range of 19 semitones, beyond the capability of many amateur and even some professional singers. This "unsingable" quality was a major argument in favor of alternatives like "America the Beautiful."
Abolitionists repurposed the popular tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner" for their own cause. In 1844, the newspaper "The Liberator" published lyrics highlighting the hypocrisy of a nation that condoned slavery, asking "O say, do you hear... the shrieks of those bondsmen?" while a banner with "stars mocking freedom is fitfully gleaming."