The Star Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem

By the National Museum of American History

On the morning of Sept. 14, 1814, Major George Armistead hoisted a magnificent American flag above Fort McHenry to signal the American victory over superior British forces in the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key, an amateur poet, had witnessed the 24-hour bombardment from a ship at sea. As he saw the garrison flag unfurled “by the dawn’s early light,” he was so moved by its sight that he penned a poem in tribute. Key set the words to existing music and the song became the national anthem in 1931. He named the flag he saw that morning the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and it is still known by that name.

The “broad stripes and bright stars” we hail as the Star-Spangled Banner were made by Mary Pickersgill, a professional flag maker from Baltimore, during the summer of 1813.

After the flag was retired from use at the fort a few years after the battle, the commander’s family took care of it for roughly 90 years. Understanding that the family heirloom was a national treasure, Amistead’s grandson Eben Appleton loaned it to the Smithsonian in 1907 and in 1912 made the Star-Spangled Banner a permanent gift to the nation, saying that he wanted it to belong “to that Institution in the country where it could be conveniently seen by the public and where it would be well cared for.”

Initial Repairs

When the Star-Spangled Banner arrived at the Smithsonian, it was already frayed and torn and reduced to 30 x 34 feet from its original 30 x 42 feet partly because of wear-and-tear and partly because family caretakers had given out swaths as keepsakes in a common practice at the time.

A canvas backing, attached to the flag in 1873 for support, was too heavy for the thin bunting and needed to be replaced. In 1914, the Smithsonian hired Amelia Fowler to preserve the flag. Fowler had worked extensively on historic flags, including many at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. She had patented a sewing technique that secured a linen support to fragile flags with a honeycomb pattern of stitches.

Applying the Fowler treatment to the Star-Spangled Banner required 10 needlewomen to use approximately 1.7 million stitches; the work took eight weeks. The Smithsonian paid Fowler $1,243 for materials and labor.

Recent Repairs

Over the past decade or so, the flag underwent another conservation treatment (costing about $7 million) to clean and stabilize it. The goal of the treatment was not to restore the flag to look like new. Rather, the aim of the conservation work was to clean and stabilize the fragile fabric while preserving the marks of two centuries and the many hands that cared for it.

The conservation treatment began in late 1998 when the flag was carefully lowered from the wall where it had been displayed since the museum opened in 1964. Before the flag was rolled up and moved into the specially built conservation laboratory on the same floor, the conservation team examined and prepared the flag for the treatment.

Once inside the environmentally controlled lab, conservators clipped approximately 1.7 million stitches that had attached a linen backing put on by Fowler’s team. They cautiously separated the two fabric layers, exposing a side of the flag not seen since 1873. Then conservators used non-abrasive cosmetic sponges to lift harmful materials off the face of the flag.

Next, the flag was lightly brushed with an acetone-water mixture to remove the soils that were embedded in the fibers. In order to stabilize the flag for future display, the conservation team realigned the banner to its true shape and sewed on a light-weight, sheer stabiltex (gauze-like supporting fabric) backing.

The conservation laboratory was outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows and the treatment was performed in full view of the public to allow visitors to see the nation’s symbol and to learn about textile conservation. More than 12 million people witnessed the flag’s conservation between 1999 and 2006, when the museum closed for renovations. The museum reopened Nov. 21, 2008.

The Star-Spangled Banner is now on view at the heart of the museum in a state-of-the-art gallery that will help preserve it so that it can inspire generations to come.