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

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

O’er the ramparts we watched, 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

Before the song became the National Anthem, it had been one of the most popular songs in America. The music that the poem was set to, ironically, is from an English drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven.”  The tune was written around 1775 by John Stafford Smith and was an ode to the ancient Greek poet, Anacreon, who really loved wine. 

If you ever have a chance to visit Fort McHenry, I highly recommend it. There is so much history there, and you can walk through the fort, gaining a sense of what the soldiers there lived with on a daily basis. You can see the living quarters, the jail, some of the stores that were located within, and then look at the view across the Chesapeake Bay. 

The soldiers inside the fort managed to withstand around 25 hours of a constant barrage by the British ships in the Bay. When they hoisted the flag the next morning, the soldiers signaled their victory through the flag. The War of 1812 has been considered the second war of Independence in the United States. Before the cannonade, Washington D.C. had been invaded, and the White House burned to the ground, and other buildings in the area were set on fire as well.

Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer who had been working on securing the release of Dr. William Beanes, a civilian doctor who had been captured, for the week before the shelling began. Because they knew the British plans, and as part of the release terms, neither could return to land prior to the firing on Fort McHenry. 

There are four verses to the Star-Spangled Banner poem, but only one is truly known to this day, and that is the one that composes our national anthem today. You can learn more about the history of the Star-Spangled Banner here: http://bit.ly/3ppaBF3. 

I decided we needed a day away from the books. We needed to get out and see something other than our schoolroom for a while. So, off to Washington D.C. we went! As it was just a day trip, I knew we could not get everything in, BUT I wanted to get something fun done. So we scoped out some fun places to eat, and kid friendly museums that were around the area. We started off with the National Gallery Museum. That place is WOW! We wandered from room to room, talking about some of the people in the portraits and some of the historical things that they had been involved in. I was pleased that my boys could recognize several of the Civil War Generals (from both sides) and name a few of the battles that they had been involved in. I noted to myself that I could use this to my advantage when it comes to learning more about the Civil War.  As we moved through some of the rooms with the statues, my youngest was quite taken aback that many of them did not have clothing (although he inspected each one to make sure that they had all the parts, and thought it was funny that people would take care with the rear ends). As we got ready to enter another of the side rooms he commented “if I see one more naked statue, I am going to puke”. Imagine his face when we walked into a room with SIX MORE! I about died laughing as his face just fell. They have some amazing portraits of some of the Native American leaders, and we got to learn some fun facts about them. My oldest asked if I wore buckskins when I was a kid. As the other guests in the room started to chuckle, I told him that they were long out of style by the time I came along.

When we got to the second floor, we got some of the newer portraits and some fun videos on WWII and Babe Ruth. My youngest easily recognized the portrait of Patton, but could not remember who Dwight D. Eisenhower was. So after staring at it for a minute, he was simply relegated to “the old guy who was a general”. There are some really awesome exhibits and some great learning opportunities there! Completely FREE to get in, but it is nice to drop a little bit into the donation box.

After we finished up at the first museum (it is totally worth the three hours we spent there), we moved on to the Museum of Natural History. On our way there, we passed by Ford’s Theater, which is where President Lincoln was shot, and then across the street, we saw the house where he eventually passed away.

OH MY GOODNESS! The Museum of Natural History is an entire day in itself! We barely scratched the surface and had to drag the boys out as they were closing. We spent about three hours JUST on the first floor. There are quite a few interactive exhibits and an IMAX theater which has some fun movies out. The animal displays were well done, and that is where my boys wanted to spend their time. They liked to identify the deep sea creatures they recognized from our nature shows (we are addicted), and excited to find a few that they had not heard of before!

Overall, we had a great time! I am excited to go back and spend some more time roaming through the streets of D.C. and visit some more museums!

What you will need:

Hand Towel – (your choice, but I used a flour sack one), Thread (again, your choice, but I went with DMC), Iron on Transfers, Needle, Iron, Ironing Board, pins (to hold your pattern in place while you are transferring to your fabric).

Time: From start to finish this took about 4.5 hours.

Total Cost: $4.27 (I got two towels, 8 transfers, and 5 skeins of thread for this price)

First, you want to start by putting the transfer on your cloth. I recommend putting something between your ironing board and the cloth that you are using. Otherwise, you might get a one of a kind board, like the one pictured below!  Pin your paper to the cloth (about five pins) to keep it from moving while you are ironing. I stuck my pins at an angle and pushed them through to the board to make sure they stayed put. Make sure your iron is on the right setting, and slowly pass your iron back and forth over the transfer. I pressed mine for about two minutes back and forth to make sure that I got the best lines possible.

Second, threads! Use your favorite colors to create your pattern! Match your threads and then get to work! I  used a slip stitch to give a fuller look to the body of the pattern, while using a simple back stitch on the lettering.

Third, ENJOY!! Sit back and craft your heart out! I watched a movie while working on this, (okay two movies), but the downtime was perfect for this crazy afternoon!

When you finish your piece, you can decide if you want to keep it or pass it on! I am loving this one, so it will be gracing my kitchen as soon as I put it through the wash. Happy Crafting!

MyMilitarySavings.com was not compensated by the company, service or product mentioned in this blog. This is strictly the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, and/or experiences of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any claims, statistic, quotes or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. MyMilitarySavings.com is not liable for any risks injury or illness that may occur if you choose to act upon the bloggers’ suggestions stated in this blog.