Star-Spangled Banner Loaned to USNM
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PrintThe Star-Spangled Banner is loaned to the United States National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution for display by Eben Appleton, grandson of Major George Armistead, the defender of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland. The flag inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" which in 1931 became the national anthem. Appleton made the loan of the flag to a gift to the museum in 1912 "with the firm and settled intention of having it remain there forever...."
Chronology of Smithsonian History
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 305, Accession 54876.
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
July 9, 1907