Authors: Scott Sumpter Sheads

Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” and it became our National Anthem. That is where the story ends, but where did it begin? On June 27, 1813, a Virginia born army officer, Major George Armistead, was ordered to take command of Fort McHenry. Two months later he ordered a flag to be made “. . . so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.”

Scott Sheads has written the first ever biography of this little known American hero who is directly responsible for two of our most cherished emblems — the Fort McHenry Flag and our National Anthem. Several appendices expand on Armistead’s genealogical and military records. To this work the author has added a separate chapter on the history of the official Star-Spangled Banner from the ramparts of Fort McHenry to its current restoration by the Smithsonian Institution.

Softbound, 5¹/₄" x 8³/₄", 96 pages, 18 illustrations, 2 maps, appendices, references, bibliography

ISBN 0-9612670-9-7