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200 Years of the Star-Spangled Banner:
From the War of 1812 to 9/11
June 14, 2012
2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Star-Spangled Banner Flag House
844 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
www.flaghouse.org
The National 9/11 Flag is one of the largest American flags to fly above the wreckage at Ground Zero. It has become our generation’s Star-Spangled Banner. Destroyed in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, this flag has been stitched back together as a symbol of American resilience and compassion.
On Flag Day, three threads from the original Star-Spangled Banner will be sewn into the National 9/11 Flag to honor the legacy of two of America’s greatest icons: the Star-Spangled Banner Flag and Anthem.
Currently on a journey across America, the National 9/11 National Flag will make a special stop at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House on Flag Day before becoming a part of the permanent collection of the National September 11 Memorial Museum being built at the World Trade Center.
In 1813 Fort McHenry’s commanding officer Major George Armistead commissioned Mary Pickersgill, an experienced flag maker to create a flag that was “so large that the British will have no difficulty seeing it from a distance.” During the bombardment of Fort McHenry, U.S. Attorney Francis Scott Key was aboard a British truce vessel. Inspired by the vision of the 30’ x 42’ flag, he wrote the poem that would become our national anthem.
Following the War of 1812, the flag developed into a dominant national symbol. The Star-Spangled Banner began to represent the broad ideals and values of a nation. Today the American flag evokes a special patriotic feeling – freedom, democracy and what it means to be an American.
The National 9/11 Flag is the modern embodiment of those ideals. Over 300 million Americans have experienced the 9/11 Flag through national and local TV coverage, public displays in small town gatherings, and major cultural and sporting events. The flag has been stitched by soldiers, school children, World War II veterans, members of Congress, and by thousands of service heroes nationwide.
