Americans
will “Raise it Up!” on Flag Day, June 14, and come together to participate in
potentially the largest unified event in American history, turning the national
anthem into “the song that was heard around the world.” The Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW) is proud to be a national partner and encourage our members to
participate in “Raise it Up! Anthem for America,” a global celebration of the
200th anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner and the lyrics penned in 1814 by
Francis Scott Key after the victorious Battle of Baltimore during the War of
1812. Led by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History from the
National Mall in Washington, D.C., the vision is for Americans across the
country and around the world to stop at the same time at 4 p.m. EDT and sing
the national anthem.
The
Smithsonian will host a sing-a-long event in Washington, D.C., on its National
Mall terrace, which will culminate in a “moment of national unity” at 4 p.m.
EDT when Americans across the country will stop to sing their anthem. More
information about the nation-wide event is available at www.anthemforamerica.si.edu.
The
National Museum of American History is home to the Star-Spangled Banner, the
flag that inspired the national anthem. Made in the summer of 1813 by Mary
Pickersgill (1776—1857), a professional flagmaker, the flag was originally 30
feet by 42 feet with 15 red-and-white wool stripes and 15 cotton stars on the
blue canton. After the war, the flag was privately owned for many years until
Eben Appleton lent it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1907 and converted the
loan to a gift in 1912. Beginning in 1998, the Star-Spangled Banner underwent
extensive conservation treatment. It is now on display in a custom-built
environmentally controlled chamber at the museum.