Star-Spangled Banner First Sung

Washington, DC

America's official anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," was written as a poem, "Defense of Fort McHenry," in 1812. Its author, Francis Scott Key, was told by his brother-in-law that the words fit perfectly to a popular English drinking tune, "The Anacreontic Song." This was somewhat ironic since The Star-Spangled Banner was inspired by an unsuccessful English attack against America.

In other words, you try to take away our freedom, we'll take away your drinking song.

To further complicate the story, the first public singing of what had become The Star-Spangled Banner took place in Baltimore at the Indian Queen Hotel, where Key had stayed while he finished writing his poem. But there was another Indian Queen Hotel, down the road in Washington, DC, and the owners of the building currently on the Indian Queen's former site put up a Star-Spangled Banner plaque, apparently unaware that their hotel was the wrong one in the wrong city.

But since Baltimore doesn't have a plaque, this one is close enough.