The fourth national park coin of 2013 will celebrate the birthplace of the National anthem, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

FORT MCHENRY NATIONAL MONUMENT OVERVIEW

In September of 1814, a Washington lawyer travelled to Baltimore to argue for the release of a civilian prisoner of war. At the same time, British warships were continuing with what would eventually be 25 hours of relentless bombardment of Fort Mchenry. From a nearby truce ship, that lawyer noted two things: one, the bombardment itself, and two that an oversized American flag sewn in preparation for the battle had made it through unpeterurbed. The lawman was so moved that he began that morning to compose a poem.

That lawyer was Francis Scott Key, and that poem would later become our national anthem. The America the Beautiful Quarters program is happy to honor both.