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Posted on 05/23/2004 12:00:41 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 1779-1843 Francis Scott Key was born August 1, 1779 on the family estate, "Terra Rubra," a 1,865 acre plantation located then, in Frederick County, but today in Carroll County, Maryland. Francis was the son of John Ross Key and Ann Phoebe Penn Dagworthy Charlton. His great-grandfather was Philip Key, an Englishman, who came to Maryland in 1726. Francis had one sister, Anne Phoebe Carlton Key, who later married Roger Brooke Taney. In 1789, at the age of ten, Francis was sent to Annapolis to obtain an education. He entered St. John's College, and due to little dormitory space, he lived with his blind grandmother, Ann Ross Key, and his great-aunt and uncle, Dr. and Mrs. Upton Scott. Key's middle name was given to him as a tribute to his great-uncle, Dr. Scott. The Georgian house owned by the Scotts, is on Shipwright Street, and is in pretty much the same condition today as it was in the 1700s. It is said that this is the home of Richard Carvel's grandfather in Winston Churchill's famous Annapolis romance. Dr. Scott originally came to Maryland as the personal physician to Royal Governor Sharpe. Scott fled Maryland for Ireland as a Tory refugee during the American Revolutionary War. Tories were outlawed in Maryland, and many were hanged. Tories were those persons that during the Revolution favored the side of the English.  When Key entered St. John's College at the age of ten, he did so at the grammar school section. Upon completion, he progressed to the intermediate section, then called the "French School." He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1796, and later earned a second degree, Master of Arts, on November 12, 1800. Key had an interest and desire to study law, in part through encouragement from his father, also a lawyer. Additionally, his father was a Justice of the Peace, and Associate Justice of his Judicial District, which comprised Allegany, Washington, and Frederick Counties. Philip Barton Key, Francis's uncle, was also an attorney, and arranged for Francis to study law under his friend, Judge Jeremiah Townley Chase in 1800. While studying under Judge Chase, Francis met Roger Brooke Taney, and the two became close friends. In later years, Taney, became a chief justice and is remembered for his famous "Dred Scott Decision." A year later, in 1801, Francis opened his own law practice in Frederick. On January 19, 1802, Francis married Mary Tayloe Lloyd, the daughter of Colonel Edward Lloyd, at the "Chase House" owned by Colonel Lloyd in Annapolis. Together, Francis and Mary had eleven children; six sons and five daughters. Following their marriage, Francis and Mary moved from Frederick to Georgetown, where Key went into practice with his uncle Philip.  The incident which led to Key's celebrated poem began during the War of 1812 during the Battle of Baltimore's in its harbor. A pacifist at heart, Key had no desire for war. Following the passage by Congress of the War Act in 1812, Key became a lieutenant and quarter-master in a field company. In September, 1814, Dr. William Beanes, a physician from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, who had caused the arrest of a disorderly band of British soldiers, was unjustly captured. In retaliation against Dr. Beanes, British Admiral Sir George Cockburn sent a detachment of troops who broke into Dr. Beanes' house, and dragged him from his bed. Transporting him to their ship, he was thrown in irons. The event was a disgrace; however his release could not be secured. Cockburn threatened to hang him from a yardarm, and friends of Key insisted that he intervene. Under a flag of truce, Key boarded an American sloop with Colonel John S. Skinner, and approached the British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay. Although Key was indifferently received, he possessed documents which described the care with which the captured doctor had treated wounded British soldiers. These documents, and pleas from Key swayed the argument and Cockburn released Beanes. By this time, the battle had begun, and the three Americans were detained on the British ship, being forced to watch the bombardment of Fort McHenry from within enemy lines. Over Fort McHenry flew a tremendous flag. Observing the battle on the 13th, Key watched the flashes of light from the rockets and bombs. During the attack on September 13-14, 1814, Key stayed on deck in suspense, wondering what the outcome of the battle would be. At daybreak on the 14th, Key was overjoyed to find the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry. Additionally, the British had decided not to attack Hampstead Hill. The British invasion had failed. British troops pulled back and by the 15th, departed.  Francis Scott Key, during the battle, jotted notes aboard the ship on an envelope which described his feelings and emotions as he watched the bombardment at Fort McHenry, and his concern for the flag. This poem was originally titled "The Defense of Fort McHenry." That night at the Indian Queen Inn, a Baltimore hotel, Key wrote out the remainder of his poem.  Key, upon finishing his poem, gave his copy to his brother-in-law, Judge J.H. Nicholson. Nicholson suggested the tune "Anacreon in Heaven" and had the poem printed, copies of which two survive today. First published in the Baltimore Patriot on September 20, 1814, it became known across the country as "Star-Spangled Banner." Eventually, Congress on March 3, 1931, made "Star-Spangled Banner" the official National Anthem of the United States. The copy that key wrote in the Indian Queen Inn on September 14, 1814, remained in the Nicholson family for 93 years. In 1907 it was sold to Henry Walters of Baltimore. In 1934 it was bought at auction in New York from the Walters estate by the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, for $26,000. The Walters Gallery in 1953 sold it to the Maryland Historical Society for the same price. It is displayed there today.  The flag that Francis Scott Key saw during the bombardment is preserved in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. The 30 X 42-foot flag has fifteen alternate red and white stripes and fifteen stars for the original 13 states, and Kentucky and Vermont. The flag was made by Mary Young Pickersgill from Baltimore. Her original house, c.1793, a National Historic Landmark originally known as the Baltimore Flag House, and known today as the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and Museum, was restored in 1953 and is now a museum. It is located at 844 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland. Following the War of 1812, Francis, being a very religious person, considered entering the clergy. From 1814 to 1826, he was a delegate to the general conventions of the Episcopal Church, and was the lay reader at St. John's Church in Georgetown. Key was an effective speaker, with a quick logical mind. As an attorney he had extensive practice in the federal courts. Consequently, he was a United States attorney for the District of Columbia from 1833 to 1841. In this position, President Andrew Jackson, in October 1833, sent him to Alabama where he negotiated a settlement between the state and federal governments over the Creek Indian Lands.  In the middle 1830s, Key moved from Georgetown to Washington, D.C. On January 11, 1843, Francis Scott Key died of pleurisy at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles Howard, at Mt. Vernon Place, Baltimore. His body was first placed in the Howard family vault at St. Paul's Cemetery, Baltimore, then transferred to Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, in 1866. Francis Scott Key was a slender man with dark blue eyes, who loved riding horses, and was generous in nature. In his lifetime he wrote many poems, all of which he considered more of a hobby, than serious writing. In 1857, a collection of his poems was published posthumously titled, "Poems of the Late Francis Scott Key, Esq."      |
Good morning Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.
Read: John 17:20-26
Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory. —John 17:24
Bible In One Year: 1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27
A Sunday school teacher asked some 5-year-olds a series of questions to help them realize that trusting in Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. He asked, "If I sell everything I have and give the money to the church, would that get me into heaven?" "No," they answered. "How about if I keep everything clean in and around the church?" Another "No." "If I love my family, am kind to animals, and give candy to every child I meet, will that get me to heaven?" Another unanimous "No!" Then he asked, "What will get me into heaven?" A little boy shouted, "You have to be dead!"
This was hardly the answer the teacher expected, but the youngster was right. The Bible tells us that we all must leave our flesh-and-blood bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-52). Unless we are alive when Jesus returns, we all must die before entering His presence.
British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon captured this truth in a sermon titled "Why They Leave Us." He pointed out that Jesus' prayer in John 17:24 is answered every time a Christian dies. The person leaves his body and enters the presence of his Savior, where he beholds His glory. What a comfort for the believer! It reveals the upside of dying. Is that your confidence? —Herb Vander Lugt
On this Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on May 23:
1598 Claude Mellan French engraver/cartoonist/painter, baptized
1620 Pieter Neefs the Younger, Flemish painter, baptized
1707 Carolus Linnæus Swedish botanist/"Father of Taxonomy"
1718 William Hunter obstetrician/medal writer
1734 Friedrich Anton Mesmer Austria, physician/hypnotist (Mesmerism)
1753 Giovanni Battista Viotti violonist/composer
1810 Margaret Fuller writer/critic 1st pro book review column (New York Tribune)
1813 Mason Brayman Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1895
1820 James Buchanan Eads US, engineer/inventor (Eads Bridge-St Louis)
1824 Ambrose Everett Burnside Major General (Union volunteers)
1828 Edward Hitchcock America's 1st professor of physical ed (Amherst College)
1837 James Sanks Brisbin Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
1844 'Abdu'l-Bahá early Bahá'í leader
1848 Helmuth J L von Moltke German general/chief of staff (WWI)
1848 Otto Lilienthal pioneer aviator
1849 Károly earl Khuen-Héderváry Premier of Hungary (1910-12)
1866 Gustav Aschaffenburg German psychiatrist/criminalologist
1883 Douglas Fairbanks Denver CO, actor (Zorro/3 Musketeers/Robin Hood)
1890 Herbert Marshall London, actor (Murder, Razor's Edge, Little Foxes)
1890 Virginia Eames Fort Davis TX, entertainer
1903 Walter Reisch US, screenwriter (Ninotchka, Gaslight, Titanic)
1908 Christian GK Baëta Togolese chairman (International Mission Council)
1908 John Bardeen US, physicist (transistor, Nobel 1956, 1972)
1910 Artie Shaw [Arthur Jacob Arshawsky] New York NY, bandleader (Come'on my House)
1910 Franz Jozef Kline US expressionist painter
1910 Scatman Crothers [Benjamin], Terre Haute IN, actor (Zapped, Shining)
1915 Clyde Wiegand physicist
1920 Helen O'Connell Lima OH, singer (Green Eyes, Amapola)
1920 Sid Melton Brooklyn NY, actor (Alf-Green Acres, Charlie-Danny Thomas)
1921 Humphrey Lyttelton jazz musician/actor (It's Great to Be Young)
1921 James [Benjamin] Blish US/UK, sci-fi author (Hugo, Star Trek Reader)
1928 Rosemary Clooney Maysville KY, singer
1931 Barbara Barrie Chicago IL, actress (Breaking Away, Barney Miller)
1933 Bruce A Peterson US test pilot (M2, HL-10)
1934 Robert Moog inventor (the Moog Synthesizer)
1945 Lauren Chapin actress (Kathy-Father Knows Best)
1950 Linda Thompson Memphis TN, actress (Hee Haw)
1951 Anatoliy Karpov USSR, world chess champion (1975-85)
1954 "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler New Jersey, middleweight boxing champion (1982-83)
1958 Thomas Reiter Germany, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-22)
1961 Drew Carey Cleveland OH, actor/comedian (Drew-Drew Carey Show)
1969 Pat Hurst San Leandro CA, LPGA golfer (1995 Rolex Rookie of the Year)
1973 Verna Vasquez Miss Universe-best swimsuit (Curacao, 1997)
1974 Jewel [Kilcher] St George UT, folk/rock vocalist (Pieces of You)
Born in London, 22 April, 1772 ; died 19 August, 1853. He entered the navy in his ninth year, served on the East India, home, and Mediterranean stations, becoming post-captain in 1795, and was thanked by the house of commons in 1809 for his services as commander of the naval force on shore, in the operations by which Martinique came into the possession of Great Britain. In 1811 he was sent on an unsuccessful mission for the reconciliation of Spain and her American colonies.
He became a rear-admiral in 1812, and took a conspicuous part in the war with the United States. In April, 1813, he took position with his squadron in Lynn Haven bay, and sent off marauding expeditions in all directions to the coasts of Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland.
He deprived three villages on the Chesapeake of property worth about $70,000, laid many towns in ashes, burned farm-houses, and carried away live stock and slaves, which were afterward sold in the West Indies on Cockburn's own account.
He took the fortified works at Hampton on 26 June, and in July captured two islands and two small war-vessels in North Carolina. In the latter part of the year he sailed as far as the Georgia coast, plundering as he went.
In August, 1814, he accompanied the expedition against the City of Washington, and, in conjunction with General Ross, defeated a small force of Americans at Bladens-burg', Maryland, four miles from the capital, on the 24th of that month. Cockburn and Ross then entered the City, accompanied by a guard of 200 men, and burned the public buildings and some private property. Cockburn was concerned in the unsuccessful attempt to capture Baltimore in September, 1814.
In 1815 he received the order of the bath, and in the autumn of that year carried Napoleon to St. Helena. He served repeatedly as member of parliament and as lord of the admiralty, was made admiral of the fleet in 1851, and in 1852 inherited a baronetcy from his brother.
We ought to read more about the 'milestones' of Christian missionaries around the world throughout history, Valin. They've never gotten the attention and recognition in histories for the valuable and often very dangerous work they did, not only for God but for civilization.
I'm preparing a morning teaching of God's Word and thought I'd drop by the foxhole.
May these great words set to the tune of an old British drinking song continue to remind us who we are and what we stand for. God bless America and God bless our beloved troops who fight for our freedom and the country they love so much.
Good Morning Snippy.
Good Morning E.G.C. It's trying to be sunny here.
Good Morning Mayor. Lazy Sunday morning and a cup of coffee. How good can it get?
LOL! I know exactly who that little boy would have been in my class. :-)
Good Morning Feather
The only boxer I ever enjoyed watching
You were up early. Good morning EGC.
Seems Sir George Cockburn was a very busy man.
Good morning Mayor. Thank you for the Sunday Word.
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