Ep 18 The Original 9/11 -- The War that Started the 'War' about "The Star Spangled Banner"

COACH GARY HERE. THIS EPISODE OF THE ‘BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST’ FEATURES THE AUDIO VERSION OF MY September 2021 COLUMN written for MASONRY MAGAZINE. YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE COLUMN AS ‘FULL CONTACT PROJECT MANAGER’. THE TITLE OF THE COLUMN YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR IS:

 The Original 9/11 -- The War that Started the ‘War’ about the “Star Spangled Banner”

 Team—  WOKE folks, easily triggered by things patriotic, you better not listen to this podcast!

 Now…a clarification: all you are going to hear is pure history. However, American history can trouble some people. In fact, in their words, they are “triggered” by things with which they disagree, and much prefer revisionist history. You won’t get that here. What you will get is some sobering truth, particularly in this month of September as we recall the horrible events of 9/11/2001. But my contention is that the original 9/11 occurred some 200+ years ago…a huge wakeup call back then which we should remember to this day.

 All considered, in some respects, this might be one of the most important podcasts I’ve ever done. But, then again…all of my podcasts are important! So…dig in!

 We begin immediately,     and by immediately,   I mean once I remind everyone that you can find our website at BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST DOT COM (repeat). I’m a big proponent of having  websites that support your business, and I’ve got an excellent example of one: Masonry Contractor Special Website. You’ll see it there. That’s what you’re looking for. It’s bullet proof, BEAUTIFUL, cutting edge, DONE FOR YOU, and practically free! You’ll love this one. Check it out.

Of course, if you’re not a masonry contractor, we have very similar websites, but in your specialty. So…check it out.

And now, Episode 18, “The Original 9/11

The War that Started the ‘War’ about the “Star Spangled Banner”

 By Coach Gary Micheloni   

OKAY, TEAM.    HANG ON, BUCKLE UP… LISTEN UP,  AND PREPARE TO MOVE UP.

TRANSCRIPT 

Title: “The Original 9/11”

…the War that Started the ‘War’ about “The Star Spangled Banner”

by “Coach Gary” Micheloni

 Note from ‘Coach Gary’: I’m writing this column about halfway between the 4^th of July and September 11^th. Patriotic juices are flowing through my veins. But…I am just about boiling mad. Guess I’d better explain.

 Some people today claim that the national anthem of the USA, “The Star Spangled Banner” is outdated, unacceptable—or worse! They maintain that it has some racist lyrics (verse #3), so the whole thing should be thrown out. Haven’t we heard that in the news lately? Yet, how many of us (actually) know what the troubling words are which seem to be the focus of the malicious, the malcontents, the people espousing those asinine attitudes of today? More importantly, how many of us truly know the story behind the anthem’s creation? Stay tuned, because there’s a huge ‘gotcha’ in the story—one that most certainly will never be mentioned by these troublemakers.

This lousy attitude is recent, unreasonable, unacceptable, and threatens our country—not to mention our jobsites--where we have skilled employees of every color, speaking varied languages, from diverse people groups, all with different cultures. Yet, we are still held together by the glue that is the very mortar of the American Dream. The true story behind the story should educate those who may once have been ignorant of it--but can now embrace our great country and its history. On the other hand, the troublemakers will likely remain ignorant, if only because it conflicts with their narrative.

This is a safety issue, a morale issue, an educational dilemma, and a grammatical nightmare. In my mind, it’s an unleashed, out-of-control freight train heading for a sleepy town. I see it, but can’t stop it, and all I can do is yell out a warning.

 Thus begins my 9/11 column, because I fully intend to yell!  “Let’s Roll!”

Let’s not be ignorant of history. Certainly, we should never allow so-called revisionist history. We should investigate, and so I have. And, as the late broadcaster, Paul Harvey, used to say on the radio...here is the rest of the story! Here it is: the unvarnished truth…the rest of the story.

The US and Britain were at war-- the War of 1812, which lasted until early 1815. Britain had been imposing a type of trade embargo against the U.S., which was rejected by America. Negotiations were going nowhere. The U.S. declared war against Britain June 18, 1812.

 Once again, we took on the mightiest military power on the globe, largely because it was impacting our economic and other freedoms. Unfortunately for the British, they were currently involved in a war with France, so they couldn’t fully commit forces against America. Thus, America got off to a pretty good start. Then, in April 1814 the British defeated Napoleon, and quickly turned their attention fully against the U.S.

The British invaded the American homeland. In fact, large numbers of troops began arriving here, and on August 24, 1814, British naval forces raided the Chesapeake Bay, and then landed ground troops which moved in on the U.S. capital, capturing D.C. that same day.

QUESTION: Did you know that America had been invaded by Great Britain?

They burned government buildings, including the Capitol Building and the White House. Upon entering the White House, they desecrated it, set fire, expecting to burn it to the ground, and would have succeeded if not for the extensive use of stone masonry in Capitol Hill!

QUESTION: Did you know that a foreign army had seized control of Washington D.C.?

The Original 9/11

The U.S. fought back and on Sept. 11, 1814, at the Battle of Plattsburgh, on Lake Champlain in New York, the American Navy soundly defeated part of the British fleet. This was the first time that 9/11 figured prominently in American history. It was a turning point in the war.

Two days later, Sept. 13, 1814, the British fleet landed 4500 soldiers in Baltimore & began shelling Fort McHenry. The shelling lasted 25 hours, throughout a rainy night, bombs literally bursting in air, rockets flying and landing near, on, and in the fort. 

While this was going on, Francis Scott Key was imprisoned aboard one of the British ships and he witnesses all of this, and knows about the recent history and the burning of D.C. He watches some 1500 rockets and bombs get launched towards Fort McHenry.

QUESTION: Do you know what inspired Key to write the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner? 

During the shelling by the British, Fort McHenry was flying a flag--a smaller, ‘storm flag’--during the battle. But… as dawn broke, the commander of Fort McHenry, Major George Armistead, ordered the storm flag taken down and a garrison flag raised. What Key saw—indeed—what the British saw--was a giant, humongous, 42’ x 30’ flag still flying after taking all that the British fleet could give!

The Americans defending the fort were sending a message to the British…and the Brits could not possibly miss the message: “You tried your best, failed to take the fort, and we’re still here!” This was equivalent to the signature of John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence. He wrote it so large that anyone could read his name—even “without spectacles”.

And so, when Major Armistead raised that huge flag, it was the signature piece of the American defenders, a signature so large that no one in the British fleet, still anchored in the harbor, needed a telescope to see it

Shortly afterward, they withdrew and were beaten again, at the Battle of New Orleans, finally withdrew from there, and then signed a treaty in February 1815, ending the war. 

“But Coach, but Coach, what about that troubling verse #3?”.

I had to look it up! From the manuscript of Francis Scott Key, as collected in the Maryland Historical Society collection, here is the 3rd stanza:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,

That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion

A home and a Country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

QUESTION: Can you handle the truth?

Here is the truth: that verse refers to acts of the British! READ THE LYRICS. The Brits were determined that one of their colonies (home and country) should have never left them, but the pollution of their footsteps upon our land was washed out by their own spilled blood. In the end, there was no refuge to save the hireling or the slave from death and the grave. Here’s that truth: the slaves and hierlings referenced by Key were on the side of the British and many would experience terror and enter the grave because of it.

This history comes from a poem by Francis Scott Key, titled, “In Defence of Fort McHenry”, later to become “The Star Spangled Banner”.

Back to those words. Let’s listen again, but this time knowing their context and how they came to be. But hear me on this: If you have any hope of understanding verse 3, and the reference to slaves and hierlings, first you’d better pay close attention to verse 1, which is the verse most often sung:

The Star-Spangled Banner

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Imagine it was you--imprisoned there in the place of Key--aboard that British ship, watching all of what happened, having seen the artillery barrage and the rockets launched against the Americans by earth’s most powerful navy, for the past 25 hours, and your story might read like this:

The night fades away…into twilight…which itself fades to a brightening dawn.

What a horrible night you’ve just witnessed! Certain that the fort and its defenders had been obliterated, you feel for them, their families, and now…your country…which would seem on the verge of being lost. All those rockets and bombs and explosions…who could resist such might?

But wait…what’s this? There is a freakishly large flag, Old Glory herself, now showing her face as the sun comes up. Can it be? Yes…I see some stripes…oh…and some stars. It is! Oh my gosh…the flag is still there! We are still here! We are still the land of the free! This is still the home of the brave!

And now, for the malcontents still in our midst, those who do not appreciate—at all—their privilege in life, let me remind everyone that national flags have always been important to our citizens. You can’t escape it, even if you close your eyes, cover ears, and yell out ‘blah…blah…blah…!’, exercising your ‘malcontent privilege’ in your attempt to block truth from entering your brain…

To this day, Americans still love their flag. Take a moment, and bring to mind these incredibly important, iconic images of flags:

World War II, the flag being raised over Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima, by U.S. Marines. You know exactly the picture I’m talking about.

Ground Zero, 9/11, in the midst of carnage, the flag being raised by three firemen. Is it seared into your brain?

And from the harbor, that September of 1814, the flag of victory still flying over Ft. McHenry. Does it still wave? You bet it does!

The turning point in the War of 1812 began on September 11 of 1814, continued into that famous, glorious morning of September 14 and finalized at the Battle of New Orleans.

May we always remember our struggles, our battles, our victories, and who we are. On 9/11, 20 hears hence, or 120 years hence, may we Never Forget.

And now…you truly know…the rest of the story.

God Bless the USA!

Coach Gary’s Corner: Gary Micheloni is a construction company marketer, speaker, author, consultant…and a coach…and a Podcaster: https://redcircle.com/brick-and-block-podcast

Get Coach Gary to speak for your group. See us at https://BrickAndBlockPodcast.com

Copyright 2021 Gary Micheloni