Happy 200th Birthday, Star-Spangled Banner. (Updated with a correction)

The actual flag, now under restoration at the Smithsonian

Country Celebrates 200th Anniversary Of Our National Anthem  " Vice President Joe Biden, Governor Martin O'Malley and an extensive roster of celebrities and elected officials joined visitors from across the United States as they flocked to Baltimore's famed Inner Harbor and the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine last night to take part in the centerpiece events of the week-long Star-Spangled Spectacular. The celebration of the bicentennial of our National Anthem – which included more than 30 tall ships and U.S. Navy vessels, festivals, living history demonstrations and the Blue Angels – peaked with a two-hour, nationally televised live special on THIRTEEN'S Great Performances on PBS. "  More text and video of this event

Brief History of Forty McHenry   "The Frenchman Jean Foncin designed the fort in 1798, and it was built between 1798 and 1800. The new fort's purpose was to improve the defenses of the increasingly important Port of Baltimore from future enemy attacks.
...
Fort McHenry was named after early American statesman James McHenry (16 November 1753 – 3 May 1816), a Scots-Irish immigrant and surgeon-soldier. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Maryland and a signer of the United States Constitution. Afterwards, he was appointed United States Secretary of War (1796–1800), serving under presidents Presidents George Washington and John Adams.

 

Below: Published on Sep 10, 2014     

"This is a portion of our tour of Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine, the birthplace of the Star-Spangled Banner. The program airs Sunday, September 14, 2014, at 6 & 10pm ET on C-SPAN 3. After it airs you can watch the FULL TOUR HERE: http://bit.ly/1rH91bY" 

More photos

Old Fort Flies 1812 Flag For National Anthem's 200th Anniversary (VIDEO)   "A special replica flag is being flown in honor of our National Anthem's 200th anniversary at the Old Fort." ...
 

 The Preservation Project   "In 1994 the Museum determined that the Star-Spangled Banner required further conservation treatment to remain on public display. Conservation of the large and valuable flag would require several years and specialized equipment and staff." ...

Star Spangled Banner Myths Debunked  plus 6 People Who Should Have Lip-Synced the National Anthem. And no, that does not include this person

The source of the melody of "The Star=Spangled Banner" :  The Anacreon Song . Here again in different form

The following correction to statements in the above post were sent me by Jon Hodges, a friend:

While researching the history of the Battle of Baltimore, I ran into more than one narrative that was cut from whole cloth, where the story was greatly exaggerated.  This describes the “Star Spangled Banner As You’ve Never Heard It” link in your blog post.

We can start with this:  Key was NOT the official negotiator, and not the one with whom Vice Admiral Cochrane would be speaking.  In fact, his total contribution to freeing Dr. Beanes was returning the soldiers that Dr. Beanes had arrested in the first place, but that did NOT trigger the freedom of Dr. Beanes.  It was the government’s official agent for POW exchanges, Colonel John S. Skinner,  who brought along letters from British prisoners from the recent battle of North Point indicating how well they and their injuries were treated under the Americans that finally made the generals relent and agree to let Dr. Beanes go.   

The part about “You can’t shell that fort, there are women and children there!” is bogus.  They were very aware that the fort would come under fire, and an evacuation of civilians would be the norm.  However, I read two accounts of women being there.  One said a woman delivering supplies to the soldiers was cut in half by a bomb, and the other said that Mrs. Armisted gave birth during the bombardment.  That is not, however, supported in Major Armisted’s official report. 

Next; it could have been the entire British Navy there, but they only had 16 ships doing any firing.  An article on Wikipedia (battle of Baltimore) lists the rocket and bomb ships by name.  They listed only six.  In addition, there were only 10 light war ships that could get that close.  The waters in the channel were shallow, which precluded sending in the heaviest ships.  Perhaps that is the reason for the Baltimore Clipper design that has a relatively flat bottom and a shallow draft. 

They did not watch the bombardment from the prison barge, they watched it from the truce ship or the small boat they came on (which one is a matter of dispute).  There would be no prisoners below-decks that Key could talk to. 

After the shelling stopped, Key did NOT get to go to the fort to “see what happened.”  The official toll was four killed, 24 wounded out of about 1,000 soldiers posted there.  And as nice as it sounds that soldiers manually held the flagpole in place, it was 90’ high!  No amount of soldiers could make any difference to that flagpole. 

Otherwise, your post is good.

Well said, Jon; thank you.

Flashback: President George W. Bush Warned of What Would Happen If the U.S. Withdrew From Iraq Too Early

Turns out this was not one of those Ted Danson world-will-end-in-ten-years predictions . Bush's IQ, I'd say, is way above the Hollywood average IQ. Especially since we put Russell Brand into the mix.TD

The Daily Signal   "Facing criticism from opponents of the Iraq War after ordering a troop surge in 2007, President George W. Bush issued a warning of what would happen in the future should the United States withdraw armed forces from Iraq. Now, seven years later, the president’s admonition mimics what’s happening in Iraq today."
 

Israel's solidarity with Christians in the Middle East

Ted Cruz, IDC, and the Politics of Solidarity  

... "My instinctive response was based on the fact that Jews really don’t love being the reason Christians are angry with each other. And that remains true. But the fact that the Jewish state was in the middle of this has revealed some common ground that usually flies under the radar, and deserves more attention.

"First, there is the issue of Cruz telling the crowd, which was there to support the oppressed Christians of the Middle East, that Israel was their best friend. Over at the Federalist, Mollie Hemingway takes issue with Cruz’s focus on Israel and David Harsanyi defends it, noting that Israel is the one country in the region where Christians can live safely and practice their faith, and are therefore thriving." ...
...
... "But it’s quite clear now that since this controversy broached the subject, it must be pointed out that Cruz was not merely engaging in hyperbole."

They aren't who they say they are, really.

James Longstreet   "It has been said that “All wars are religious.”  In some instances this point is difficult to make. But in so many others, it is glaringly obvious. To suggest that religion is not integral to the current conflicts in the Mideast is folly of the highest degree. To stand before a nation and assert that ISIS is not acting on their beliefs is a gross misrepresentation."
...
"Recall how we were told by Obama that the world, civilization, owes a “debt to Islam."

"The debate on whether we in fact do or do not is one for a different time. But not so debatable is the fact that “if” there was some type of “golden age” in the Muslim world, it halted  long ago, abruptly and for inexplicable reasons.  Those who descended from the “golden age," as the President refers, routinely rely on a hole in the ground for a toilet, treat their women like an NFL running back does in an elevator, and decapitate non believers for video consumption.".  Read more:

What is "The Levant"? Why does Obama replace the "S" in ISIS to call it "ISIL"?

What’s behind the choice of name of Mideast terror group?

"President Obama may have had a difficult time formulating a strategy to deal with the ISIS crisis, yet he alone has been almost obsessively resolute in referring to the group as “ISIL.”

 

"In some of Obama’s briefings on ISIS, he has gone so far as to spell out ISIL.

 

"Puzzling to reporters and pundits, the use of ISIL by Obama has prompted a bevy of theories.

 

"ISIS was the original name of the al-Qaida offshoot. It’s an acronym that stands for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. But, months ago, ISIS changed its name to ISIL – the Islamic State in the Levant. More recently, ISIS chose to be known simply as Islamic State.

 

'Most news organizations, pundits and policymakers chose to stick with ISIS, perhaps to discourage the ISIS shell game of frequent name changes. Obama, though, has stuck with ISIL."...

...

Obama's rejection of the "S" indicates his reluctance to get involved in Syria, even though Syria is part of the Levant.

So confusing was the discussion, it forced Todd to clarify for viewers: “Obviously we refer to it at NBC News as ISIS. The Obama administration, president, says the word ISIL. The last S stands for Syria, the last L they don’t want to have stand for Syria.”

 

 

http://www.therightplanet.com/todays-political-funnies/

Obama administration pretzel logic on ISIS

 

We are not at war with ISIS.

The United States is not against ISIL.

We are at war with ISIS  

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people”

Richard Larsen

 

"One of the predictable effects of the secularization of our culture and our society is the debasement of our collective moral fabric, our social mores. The absolute and fundamental matrix of values that form the basis of our Judeo-Christian society have steadily eroded, and at an accelerated rate over the past few decades. This erosion of traditional values has contributed to proliferation of a moral relativism that is profoundly evidenced by displacement of social standards and individual religious belief systems."

...

"This moral relativism has coincided predictably with the secularization of our culture. Supplanting our Judeo-Christian value system, by effectively removing it from the public realm, has effectively left our society as a ship without a moral rudder."

Thomas Sowell: A Primer on Race

Review here.

  Jewish World Review  "Back in the heyday of the British Empire, a man from one of the colonies addressed a London audience.

" 'Please do not do any more good in my country," he said. "We have suffered too much already from all the good that you have done."

 

 "That is essentially the message of an outstanding new book by Jason Riley about blacks in America. Its title is "Please Stop Helping Us.' "

...

"As an experienced journalist, rather than an academic, Riley knows how to use plain English to get to the point. He also has the integrity to give it to you straight, instead of in the jargon and euphemisms too often found in discussions of race. The result is a book that provides more knowledge and insight in a couple of hundred pages than are usually found in books twice that length." ...

 

 

 Jason Riley: ‘Blacks Ultimately Must Help Themselves’   
What those policies have done is foster an excessive dependence on government in the black community, he says in the book, which the Democratic Party and opportunistic black leaders are using to further their own agenda.
“Democrats have a vested interest in black dependency on government,” Riley told The Daily Caller. “It’s one way that Democrats keep blacks loyal — they present themselves as the party who gives people things.”

 White Limousine Liberal Russell Brand Tapes Racist Attack on Black Author Jason Riley   ... "And then imagine the racist attack by the wealthy British liberal white man being filmed while he sits next to a seven year old child in the back of the chauffeur driven limousine.

"Imagine all that and you would have British comedian Russell Brand lecturing author, Fox News contributor and member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Jason Riley on how to think black."

In this video he actually IS a liberal in a limousine.

Hello, Kurdistan

The Kurds have proved to be, roughly speaking, the Swiss of the Muslim Middle East.

Daniel Pipes    "Before welcoming the emerging state of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, I confess to having opposed its independence in the past."

 

"In 1991, after the Gulf War had ended and as Saddam Hussein attacked Iraq’s 6 million Kurds, I made three arguments against American intervention on their behalf, arguments still commonly heard today: (1) independence for Iraq’s Kurds would spell the end of Iraq as a state, (2) it would embolden Kurds to agitate for independence in Syria, Turkey, and Iran, leading to destabilization and border conflicts, and (3) it would invite the persecution of non-Kurds, causing “large and bloody exchanges of population.”

"All three expectations proved flat-out wrong. Given Iraq’s wretched domestic and foreign track record, the end of a unified Iraq promises relief, as do Kurdish stirrings in the neighboring countries. Syria is already fracturing into its three ethnic and sectarian components — Kurdish, Sunni Arab, and Shi’i Arab — which promises benefits in the long term. Kurds’ departing from Turkey would usefully impede the reckless ambitions of now-president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Similarly, Kurds’ decamping from Iran would helpfully diminish that arch-aggressive mini-empire. Far from non-Kurds fleeing Iraqi Kurdistan, as I feared, the opposite has occurred: Hundreds of thousands of refugees are pouring in from the rest of Iraq to benefit from Kurdistan’s security, tolerance, and opportunities.

 

History: Brunswick, Maine Civil War Round Table

20th Maine reunion photo at Devil's Den--October 1889

Back in 2012, the Tunnel Wall published this on the home of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Brunswick, Maine in the Civil War (2014 Updates).
For those interested in this piece of American history, the following should add to your body of knowledge on this. We appreciate the Oct 2014 issue of Civil War Times for making us aware of this.

20th Maine Co. G

 

Brunswick Civil War Round Table    It shall be the mission of the Brunswick Civil War Round Table to promote interest in and disseminate knowledge of the American Civil War, through various speakers at regular Round Table meetings and other special events. It shall also be a goal of the Round Table to promote, encourage, and support Civil War Battlefield Preservation.

 

BCWRT is committed to providing support, including financial support, to like minded organizations that advance the study and understanding of the American Civil War. We have supported the following organizations.

Brunswick Civil War Round Table Recommended Sites
 

Brunswick Civil War Round Table Articles

Related posts From the Civil War Times:


Major General Adelbert Ames: Forgotten Man of the 20th Maine
"Ames wanted even higher rank, however, and realized he would have to switch to the infantry branch to get it. On August 20, 1862, he was given command of the 20th Maine and the rank of colonel. Colonel Ames commanded that unit until May 1863, when he became a member of Maj. Gen. George Meade's staff. He soon became a brigadier general, commanding a brigade in the XI Corps, leaving Lt. Col. Joshua Chamberlain to gain glory as the 20th's commander at Gettysburg. Ames and his brigade, meanwhile, fought on Barlow's Knoll and Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg."

Book Review: Conceived in Liberty: Joshua Chamberlain, William Oates, and the American Civil War
 "Conceived in Liberty seeks to illuminate an entire era by chronicling the parallel (and very interesting) lives of the two most famous antagonists on Little Round Top: Chamberlain and William C. Oates of the 15th Alabama."

17th Maine Infantry in the Battle of Gettysburg   "The 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment was mustered in at Cape Elizabeth, Maine for three year's service on August 18, 1862 and were mustered out on June 10, 1865."

The true story of the most famous regiment of the American Civil War   Video

Did you know the connection between LL Bean clothing and the 20th Maine?

 

President Obama now says he will wait until after the November elections to implement an "executive amnesty" for 11 million illegal aliens, so as not to hurt Democrats' chances this year.

"This election is our first referendum on amnesty."

 

Ann Coulter tells us to get angry now.

... "Instead of waiting to be enraged in December, voters, could you please be enraged now? Once the holiday season kicks off, you'll be too busy going to parties and Christmas shopping to notice that you're suddenly living in Mexico.

"Getting Obama to postpone a rancid idea isn't something to celebrate. Yay! We did it! We forced him to delay doing something the country doesn't want for SIX WEEKS! Every Republican candidate better be jamming Obama's threat down the throats of their Democratic opponents.

"Obama is claiming to have the powers of a dictator. Amnesty was considered by Congress, but -- here's the important thing: It didn't pass. It only passed the Senate, with the votes of all Democrats and 14 not-bright Republicans. After that, widespread public revulsion prevented Marco Rubio's amnesty bill from even being considered in the House.

"But according to Obama, the only reason illegals haven't already been given amnesty is that Congress is not "doing its job.' "   
...
"Surveying the wreckage of a mere two years of a Democratic president with a Democratic Congress, all Americans should be focused like a laser beam on putting the Senate in Republican hands.

  " Won't you be angry if our power-mad president grants millions of illegal immigrants "executive amnesty" on the basis of his nonexistent constitutional authority to ignore the law? The surge of needy foreigners across our Southern border, so far, will be nothing compared to what's coming if Obama does this."  Full article.

Obama’s uncertain trumpet, again

 

 Charles Krauthammer   "And beyond the strategy’s halfhearted substance is its author’s halfhearted tone. Obama’s reluctance and ambivalence are obvious. This is a man driven to give this speech by public opinion. It shifted radically with the televised beheading of two Americans. Every poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly want something to be done — and someone to lead the doing.

"Hence Wednesday’s speech. Its origins were more political than strategic. Its purpose was to save the wreckage of a presidency at its lowest ebb. (If this were a parliamentary democracy, Obama would lose a vote of nonconfidence and be out of office.) Its point was to give the appearance of firmness and purpose, i.e., leadership."

 

"The speech’s only news was the promise to expand the air campaign into Syria and (finally) seriously arm the secular opposition. But this creates a major problem for Obama. Just a month ago, he ridiculed the non-jihadist rebels as nothing but a bunch of “doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth.” Now he deputizes them as our Syrian shock troops. So he seems finally to have found his Syria strategy: F-16s flying air support for pharmacists in tanks."

President Obama vowed to arm Syrian rebels to fight ISIS Wednesday. He had a change of heart. Last month he dismissed the rebels as doctors, dentists and pharmacists, but he's come to realize it's cheaper to give them the half billion now than pay their bills through ObamaCare.   Argus Hamilton

Obama the Divider?

Hot Air   "The only real hope that Democrats have in this midterm is to cobble together the voter coalition that Barack Obama created in two elections in order to counter what looks to be a Republican wave. They have one big obstacle to that goal — Barack Obama himself. According to an analysis from the Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty, Obama has lost the confidence of his once-favored demographics, and with it any enthusiasm to protect him in November:
...
"Aaron Blake says that’s not the worst of the poll’s findings, though. The worst is that a strong majority now see Obama as a divider rather than a uniter:

The most troubling number for President Obama in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll is this one: Americans say 55 percent to 38 percent that he is more of a divider than a uniter.

That’s a reversal from last year, when Americans said 47-45 that Obama had done more to unite the country than divide it