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馬里蘭州喬治王子縣縣政府所在地。, 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日獨立紀(jì)念日，美國人都會以精彩紛呈的國歌表演來慶祝。國歌“星條旗”的詞作者弗朗西斯·斯科特·基或許已為無數(shù)美國人所熟知?；H眼目睹了巴爾的摩戰(zhàn)役，創(chuàng)作了這篇不朽的詩文。

[2]但是可能很少有人知道最初是怎樣的機緣巧合讓這位并未參軍的律師親眼見證了那場戰(zhàn)役。

答案就在馬里蘭州一位醫(yī)生的傳奇故事中。

[3] 1814年8月底，英軍攻占美國首都，馬里蘭州亦遭入侵。據(jù)哈羅德·大衛(wèi)·蘭利《1812年戰(zhàn)爭百科》記載，英軍朝上馬爾伯勒鎮(zhèn)開進時，當(dāng)?shù)卮蟛糠志用裨缫褩壖姨油?，一位叫威廉·比恩斯的醫(yī)生選擇了留守，他是鎮(zhèn)上的大地主，在當(dāng)?shù)嘏e足輕重。

[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]英軍到達(dá)時，比恩斯醫(yī)生像朋友一樣招待他們，甚至主動提供自己的房子作為英軍的臨時司令部，而英軍將領(lǐng)們也欣然接受了。盡管美國已經(jīng)獨立近40年，馬里蘭州仍有英國的擁護者。英軍將領(lǐng)很可能認(rèn)為比恩斯醫(yī)生要么是英國的擁護者，要么就是位殷勤的鄉(xiāng)紳，他會根據(jù)軍銜給予這些軍官應(yīng)有的尊重，不管他們是英國人還是美國人。

[5]停留期間，英軍與比恩斯醫(yī)生一直友好相處。然而，英軍將領(lǐng)離開僅幾天，比恩斯醫(yī)生便得知英國士兵在洗劫周圍離棄的農(nóng)場。于是，他召集當(dāng)?shù)鼐用?，組成武裝團，包圍了這些胡作非為的士兵并將他們關(guān)押在當(dāng)?shù)氐囊凰O(jiān)獄中。其中一名被扣押的士兵設(shè)法逃了出來，他直接找到英軍將領(lǐng)揭發(fā)了比恩斯醫(yī)生的武裝團。

[6]英軍將領(lǐng)覺得遭到了背叛，相處了這么久的比恩斯醫(yī)生竟然會以這樣的方式對待他們的士兵。于是，午夜時分，據(jù)沃爾特·洛德《晨曦初現(xiàn)》一書中的描述，“一隊英國騎兵直奔比恩斯醫(yī)生家門口，破門而入，將他從睡夢中拽了起來”。書中補充道，英軍少將羅伯特·羅斯“平時是軍中最有仁愛之心的，此時卻對這位年邁的醫(yī)生充滿了蔑視”；而皇家海軍上將喬治·科伯恩想將比恩斯醫(yī)生一路“捆綁”押送至英軍在新斯科舍省的戰(zhàn)俘營。

[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]縱使比恩斯醫(yī)生已經(jīng)65歲高齡，英軍仍將他帶上皇家海軍艦艇“雷鳴”號拘禁起來，關(guān)押在禁閉室里。如此對待一位德高望重的公民，這在那個時代可非同尋常。

[8]幸運的是，比恩斯醫(yī)生深受愛戴且人脈廣泛，英軍對他的扣押和監(jiān)禁立即引起了關(guān)注。35歲的律師弗朗西斯·斯科特·基，天資聰穎又極具魅力，應(yīng)征設(shè)法營救他。在征得時任總統(tǒng)詹姆斯·麥迪遜的許可后，基在美國俘虜交換特使約翰·斯圖爾特·斯金納的陪同下登上了一艘休戰(zhàn)船，駛向英軍停泊的切薩皮克灣。

[9]基和斯金納感到英軍將領(lǐng)仍憤憤不平。有備而來的他們向英軍出示了來自英國士兵的一些感謝信。在不久前的布萊登斯堡戰(zhàn)役中，這些士兵負(fù)傷后得到了美國醫(yī)生體貼入微和及時有效的治療，他們在信中表達(dá)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巴爾的摩港入口處的一個要塞?！猼hey 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]真摯的信件讓英軍將領(lǐng)為之動容，他們最終同意釋放比恩斯醫(yī)生。獲釋后，比恩斯醫(yī)生隨基和斯金納一起返回了休戰(zhàn)船。此時，巴爾的摩戰(zhàn)役已經(jīng)打響，英國皇家海軍對麥克亨利堡發(fā)起了進攻，他們?nèi)吮黄葴舻却?，并目睹了整場?zhàn)役。隆隆作響的大炮聲和震耳欲聾的火箭炮聲交織在一起，響徹整個夜晚。

[11]隔天凌晨，基看到美國國旗仍在麥克亨利堡上飄揚，不禁感慨萬千，揮筆寫下“保衛(wèi)麥克亨利堡”一詩，后來這首詩更名為“星條旗”。有趣的是，基當(dāng)時并未推廣這個作品。事實上，他甚至都未署名。基只是把詩文分享給了幾位好友，是他們使這首詩流傳開來。之后數(shù)十年中，基的名字很少和歌詞一起出現(xiàn)，但“星條旗”已成為美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)期間最受民眾喜愛的歌曲。

[12] 1931年，時任美國總統(tǒng)赫伯特·胡佛簽署了國會決議，“星條旗”正式成為美國國歌——如果這位律師當(dāng)時沒有應(yīng)征去解救那位醫(yī)生，這首國歌恐怕便不復(fù)存在了。