The Star Spangled Banner Major General Robert Ross landed 4,000 British troops at Benedict, Maryland on August 19, 1814. The force included: The King's Own Royal Lancasters, Shropshire Light Infantry, Royal Scotts Fusiliers, East Essex Regiment, and a detachment of 50 Royal Marines. Ross joined forces with two battalions of Cockburn's Marines for a total force of about 5,000 men. Ross advanced on Bladensburg, just outside Washington, at the quickstep. The British were impeded only by the Maryland sun which caused twelve cases of heat prostration. Opposing the rapid advance of Ross' Peninsular veterans was General Winder's nondescript 10,00 man army, 5,000 effectives, Commodore Joshua Barney's 500 flotilla men, with five guns, and Captain Samuel Miller's 114 man battalion of United States Marines . The British begun to cross the Anacostia River shortly after the arrival of the American forces on August 24, 1814. General Winder's army troops departed the Field of Honour sans leave muchless orders at the first whoosh of the Congreve Rockets fired by the British to cover their crossing. The Marines and the Navy stood fast. Barney reported afterward: "I reserved our fire. In a few minutes the British advanced, when I ordered an 18-pounder to be fired, which completely cleared the road." The British credit the initial blast of grape and canister with blowing an entire company off the road. The Navy gunners stood to their guns man-of war style while a hail of musket fire from the Marines swept down on the British. The British reformed and charged twice more and were thrown back twice again. The last repulse was followed by a counterattack by the Marines and cutlass weilding sailors shouting "Board em, Board em!" Five hundred sailors and 144 Marines held up over 5,000 battle hardener British regulars for over two hours. The Americans suffered about 125 causalities to approximately 250 for the British. Both Commodore Barney and Captain Miller were wounded and Ross was using his numerical superiority to work flanking columns around the thin line of Marines and seamen. Commodore Barney gave orders to retire. Commodore Barney was captured but most of the Marines and sailors retired north to Baltimore and joined up with Marines and sailors from the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the USS Guerriere who were concentrating to defend the port. Marines were at both Sparrows Point and Fort McHenry during the British attack. General Ross's terse report: "They gave us our only real fighting." Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Commandant Wharton also skedaddled. Wharton commandeered a wagon and, with the paymaster and all cash on hand, advanced rapidly with his back to the British. Wharton holed up in Frederick, Maryland until the ashes of Washington were cold and it was safe to pop out of his hole. In Lieutenant Colonel Commandant Wharton own words: "Whilst the enemy was in the city, I was with the Paymaster at Fredricktown. . . . The events of the past few days seem as a bad dream." The coward dies a thousand deaths! The brave man dies but once! Pain is temporary! Pride is forever! Ross advanced on Washington and burned the Capitol, the White House, and the offices of the War and Treasury Departments on August 24, 1814, in retaliation for the burning of York, Canada and the Parliament building on April 27, 1813, by American forces. Ross then attacked Fort McHenry by land and sea from 11 to 13 September 1814. General Ross was an early casualty to a random shot on September 12, 1814. Some say the shot was fired by a flotillaman he had paroled at Bladensburg. The government of Maryland considered Annapolis a prime target for British occupation and had the state records transported to Upper Marlboro for safe keeping. The Maryland State records were placed in the care of Dr. William Beanes while they were stored in Upper Marlboro. As it turned out, Annapolis was not occupied during the War of 1812 but Upper Marlboro was occupied by the British on three occasions. Dr. William Beanes arrested two drunken stragglers as the British forces were withdrawing from Upper Marlboro and threw them into jail. One sobered up enough to escape and report the arrest. A detachment of British soldiers returned to Upper Marlboro to free the imprisoned soldier and to arrest Dr. Beanes. Francis Scott Key, a Baltimore lawyer, of Georgetown, and Colonel John Stuart Skinner of Croom went to Baltimore to meet with Major General Robert Ross and Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn to request the release of Dr. Beanes on September 13, 1814. Dr. Beanes was released but the Americans were detained on H.M.S. Minden until after the attack to prevent them from conveying any military information to American military authorities. Key observed the attack on Fort McHenry from the deck of the Minden and when dawn came and the flag was still flying he immediately wrote the "The Star Spangled Banner". He rewrote the song later that day in a Baltimore hotel room. The Star Spangled Banner was published anonymously as "The Defense of Fort McHenry" in the Baltimore Patriot on September 20, 1814. The words were set to the tune of "Anaceron in Heaven", the song of the Anaceron Society. The Star Spangled Banner was adopted as the National Anthem in 1931. Francis Scott Key later served as district attorney for the District of Columbia for many years. The Espionage Act of June 15, 1917, Criminalized Singing the third verse of The Star Spangled Banner Congress amended the original Act of June 15, 1917, on October 6, 1917, and amended (Section 5 (b)) of the amended Act of October 6, 1917, on March 9, 1933. President Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2039 on March 6, 1933, and declared a National Emergency. The March 9, 1933, amendment is known as the War Powers Act and is still in force. Roosevelt also issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2040 on March 9, 1933, continuing the Emergency indefinitely and ordered that all: regulations and orders issued thereunder are hereby continued in full force and effect until further proclamation by the President." "Whereas, said national emergency still continues, and it is necessary to take further measures extending beyond March 9, 1933, in order to accomplish such purposes" �����Now, therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, in view of such continuing national emergency and by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 (b) of the Act of October 6, 1917 (40 Stat. L. 411) as amended by the Act of March 9, 1933, do hereby proclaim, order, direct and declare that all the terms and provisions of said Proclamation of March 6, 1933, and the regulations and orders issued thereunder are hereby continued in full force and effect until further proclamation by the President.� Such Proclamation is yet to be made. There are rumors that singing the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner was decriminalized in 1997 but the third verse is conspicuous by it�s absence from official government web sites such as the West Point web site and the National Park Service official Fort McHenry web site. Robert Goldstein, a well known mainstream movie producer, was indicted, convicted and sentenced to ten years in the federal penitentiary at Steilacoom, Washington under the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917. Robert's crime? He completed production of a motion picture titled "The Spirit of '76"� just as the United States entered W.W.I. This seditious movie contains scenes such as: Patrick Henry's Speech, The Signing of the Declaration of Independence, Valley Forge, Paul Reverie's Ride and The Wyoming Massacre. Goldstein v. United States 258 Fed. 908. HUNT, Circuit Judge. {1}����We will first consider the count which charges an attempt to cause insubordination and disloyalty or refusal of duty. The statute Act of June 15, 1917, is clear and simple in its language. Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause, or attempt to cause, insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty in the military or naval forces of the United States, shall be punished as provided. The question of the truth or falseness �of the thing done by the person who, when the state of war exists, attempts to cause disloyalty or any of the other conditions enumerated, is not the essence of the inquiry. ����The picture might be a truthful representation of an historical fact, and yet the nature of it, the circumstances surrounding the exhibition thereof, the time, the occasions when the public exhibitions are had, may well tend to show whether the picture would naturally in the light of great events, be calculated to foment disloyalty or insubordination among the naval or military forces. United States v. The Spirit of �76�� 252 Fed. 946 Bledsoe, District Judge. History is history, and fact is fact, There is no doubt about that. At the present time, however, . . . We are engaged in a war in which Great Britain is an ally of the United States. It is a fact that we were at war with Great Britain during the Revolutionary times, and whatever occurred there is written upon the page of history and will have to stand, whomsoever may be injured or hurt by the recital or recollection of it. But this is no time in my judgment (this is the thought that controls me in this matter), whatever may be the excuse, whether it be a financial return or otherwise, for the exploitation of those things that may have the tendency or effect of sowing dissension among our people, and of creating animosity or want of confidence between us and our allies, because so to do weakens our efforts, weakens the chance of our success, impairs our solidarity, and renders less useful the lives we are giving, to the end that this war may soon be over and peace may soon become a thing substantial and permanent with us. ����I am in no mood, either, particularly after having listened to the testimony of this man Goldstein, to consider the suggestion that the film be returned, and so much of it be permitted to be exhibited as has not met with special objection. ����It is a fair inference . . .that the disposition and purpose of the whole play in its deeper significance is to incite hatred of England and England's soldiers.���� And it is not at all necessary that it should be shown to have such effect; it is enough if it is calculated reasonably so to excite or inflame the passions of our people, or some of them, as that they will be deterred from giving that full measure of co-operation, sympathy, assistance, and sacrifice which is due to Great Britain, simply because of the fact that Great Britain, as an ally of ours, is working with us to fight the battle which we think strikes at our very existence as a nation. 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