(2010) Acrylic on canvas, 48"H x 60"W
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?
On September 13, 1814, American troops thwarted a British attack on Baltimore's Fort Henry. This was a pivotal battle, one that would certainly have meant the loss of American independence if lost. It was an event well worth celebrating, and it prompted the writing of what later became the US National Anthem. "Rockets' red glare" refers to the Congreve rockets launched against the fort. The "red glare" of the 2000's was exemplified by Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and the Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missiles launched by the US which killed countless innocent civilians.