1948 Francis Scott Key 3¢ Stamps

Francis Scott Key was honored by a 3-cent red stamp issued on August 9, 1948. Key, an attorney, was brokering a prisoner exchange with the British during the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland, in the War of 1812. As the bombardment ended and the British withdrew, from his vantage point in the Chesapeake Bay, Key saw the Stars and Stripes still flying and was inspired to write the poem that was set to music and became America's national anthem in 1931. The stamp features Key's portrait, the old Key home and the flag of 1814, and the 1948 flag and a view of Fort McHenry.