How the Star-Spangled Lyrics Were Born

By Ray Cavanaugh

On the Fourth of July, Americans who celebrate with myriad renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner”may well know that the lyrics were the handiwork of Francis Scott Key, who composed his immortal poem while watching the Battle of Baltimore.

[2] But fewer people are likely to know what led Key—who was a lawyer, not a soldier—to witness the battle in the first place.

The answer comes down to the saga of one Maryland doctor.

[3] In late August of 1814, the British had marched to the American capital and also invaded Maryland. When they made their way to the town of Upper Marlboro1马里兰州乔治王子县县政府所在地。, which had been largely abandoned, they found one Dr. William Beanes, the town’s primary landowner and a patriarchal figure in the community, who had elected to remain, according to Harold D. Langley in the Encyclopedia of the War of 1812.

每年7月4日独立纪念日，美国人都会以精彩纷呈的国歌表演来庆祝。国歌“星条旗”的词作者弗朗西斯·斯科特·基或许已为无数美国人所熟知。基亲眼目睹了巴尔的摩战役，创作了这篇不朽的诗文。

[2]但是可能很少有人知道最初是怎样的机缘巧合让这位并未参军的律师亲眼见证了那场战役。

答案就在马里兰州一位医生的传奇故事中。

[3] 1814年8月底，英军攻占美国首都，马里兰州亦遭入侵。据哈罗德·大卫·兰利《1812年战争百科》记载，英军朝上马尔伯勒镇开进时，当地大部分居民早已弃家逃亡，一位叫威廉·比恩斯的医生选择了留守，他是镇上的大地主，在当地举足轻重。

[4] When the British arrived, Dr.Beanes greeted them as friends, and even offered up his estate as a makeshift headquarters for British officers,who accepted the offer. Even though the U.S. had been independent for nearly 40 years, there were still British sympathizers in the region. The men likely figured that the doctor was either a sympathizer or merely a hospitable gentleman who treated high-ranking officers,be they American or British, with the respect their position commanded.

[5] Their time together had been amicable. But a few days after the officers departed, word reached Dr. Beanes that British soldiers were looting the abandoned farms of his neighbors. The doctor formed a small posse of Maryland residents to round up these roguish soldiers and held them in a local jail. One of the detainees managed to escape—and he went straight to his leaders to tell them about the Dr. Beanes posse.

[6] The British officers felt betrayed that the doctor they had spent time with had chosen to treat their soldiers in such fashion. So, in the middle of the night, “a party of British horsemen rode up to Beanes’ front door, crashed into the house, and pulled the doctor out of bed,” as narrated in Walter Lord’s book The Dawn’s Early Light, which adds that the British Major-General, Robert Ross, “normally the most humane of warriors, had nothing but contempt for the old doctor,” and that the Royal Navy Admiral, George Cockburn, wanted to send him “in chains” all the way to the British prisoner-of-war camp in Nova Scotia.

[4]英军到达时，比恩斯医生像朋友一样招待他们，甚至主动提供自己的房子作为英军的临时司令部，而英军将领们也欣然接受了。尽管美国已经独立近40年，马里兰州仍有英国的拥护者。英军将领很可能认为比恩斯医生要么是英国的拥护者，要么就是位殷勤的乡绅，他会根据军衔给予这些军官应有的尊重，不管他们是英国人还是美国人。

[5]停留期间，英军与比恩斯医生一直友好相处。然而，英军将领离开仅几天，比恩斯医生便得知英国士兵在洗劫周围离弃的农场。于是，他召集当地居民，组成武装团，包围了这些胡作非为的士兵并将他们关押在当地的一所监狱中。其中一名被扣押的士兵设法逃了出来，他直接找到英军将领揭发了比恩斯医生的武装团。

[6]英军将领觉得遭到了背叛，相处了这么久的比恩斯医生竟然会以这样的方式对待他们的士兵。于是，午夜时分，据沃尔特·洛德《晨曦初现》一书中的描述，“一队英国骑兵直奔比恩斯医生家门口，破门而入，将他从睡梦中拽了起来”。书中补充道，英军少将罗伯特·罗斯“平时是军中最有仁爱之心的，此时却对这位年迈的医生充满了蔑视”；而皇家海军上将乔治·科伯恩想将比恩斯医生一路“捆绑”押送至英军在新斯科舍省的战俘营。

[7] Taken into British custody, the doctor—despite being a gentleman of 65—was brought to the Royal Navy ship, the HMS Tonnant, and thrown in the brig. Such treatment of a prominent citizen was unusual in that era.

[8] Fortunately for Dr. Beanes, he was a well-liked and well-connected man,whose seizure and incarceration did not go unnoticed. A gifted and charming 35-year-old lawyer named Francis Scott Key was enlisted to try to help him.Receiving the consent of then-President James Madison, Key—who accompanied by prisoner exchange agent John S.Skinner—boarded a flag-of-truce ship and headed down the Chesapeake Bay towards the British.

[9] Key and Skinner found the British officers still highly indignant. Prepared for this much, the Americans then produced letters from British soldiers who had been wounded during the recent Battle of Bladensburg; these letters expressed much gratitude for the kind and effective treatment they had received from American doctors.

[7]纵使比恩斯医生已经65岁高龄，英军仍将他带上皇家海军舰艇“雷鸣”号拘禁起来，关押在禁闭室里。如此对待一位德高望重的公民，这在那个时代可非同寻常。

[8]幸运的是，比恩斯医生深受爱戴且人脉广泛，英军对他的扣押和监禁立即引起了关注。35岁的律师弗朗西斯·斯科特·基，天资聪颖又极具魅力，应征设法营救他。在征得时任总统詹姆斯·麦迪逊的许可后，基在美国俘虏交换特使约翰·斯图尔特·斯金纳的陪同下登上了一艘休战船，驶向英军停泊的切萨皮克湾。

[9]基和斯金纳感到英军将领仍愤愤不平。有备而来的他们向英军出示了来自英国士兵的一些感谢信。在不久前的布莱登斯堡战役中，这些士兵负伤后得到了美国医生体贴入微和及时有效的治疗，他们在信中表达了自己的感激之情。

[10] This heartfelt literature had such a profound effect on the British that they decided to free Dr. Beanes. Upon his release, the doctor went with Key and Skinner to the truce ship, where—due to the outbreak of the Battle of Baltimore and the Royal Navy’s attack on Fort McHenry2巴尔的摩港入口处的一个要塞。—they were forced to wait, and witness. A chorus of booming cannons and exploding rockets riveted them throughout the night.

[11] When morning arrived, and Key saw that the American flag still flew above Fort McHenry, he was so moved that he took to verse, composing the poem, “Defence of Fort M’Henry,”which later became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Interestingly, he made no effort to promote this composition. In fact, he did not even sign it. He merely showed his lyrics to a few friends, who then circulated the work. For several decades, Key’s name rarely appeared alongside these lyrics, which—by the time of the Civil War—had become arguably America’s most beloved song.

[12] It wasn’t until 1931 that a congressional resolution signed by President Herbert Hoover made “The Star-Spangled Banner” the U.S. national anthem—an anthem that never would’ve existed had a lawyer not been asked to help out a doctor.

[10]真挚的信件让英军将领为之动容，他们最终同意释放比恩斯医生。获释后，比恩斯医生随基和斯金纳一起返回了休战船。此时，巴尔的摩战役已经打响，英国皇家海军对麦克亨利堡发起了进攻，他们三人被迫滞留等待，并目睹了整场战役。隆隆作响的大炮声和震耳欲聋的火箭炮声交织在一起，响彻整个夜晚。

[11]隔天凌晨，基看到美国国旗仍在麦克亨利堡上飘扬，不禁感慨万千，挥笔写下“保卫麦克亨利堡”一诗，后来这首诗更名为“星条旗”。有趣的是，基当时并未推广这个作品。事实上，他甚至都未署名。基只是把诗文分享给了几位好友，是他们使这首诗流传开来。之后数十年中，基的名字很少和歌词一起出现，但“星条旗”已成为美国内战期间最受民众喜爱的歌曲。

[12] 1931年，时任美国总统赫伯特·胡佛签署了国会决议，“星条旗”正式成为美国国歌——如果这位律师当时没有应征去解救那位医生，这首国歌恐怕便不复存在了。