Two hundred years ago this day and night, attorney Frank Key – known to us today as Francis Scott Key – thought he was witnessing the end of the American dream. Opposed to the brutality of war and regarding the U. S. endeavor to take on Great Britain as utter foolishness, Key nevertheless volunteered to be part of an emissary to the British to secure the release of a captive. All went well, except that the British, who had already bombed Washington to pieces and now were intent on destroying Baltimore, felt that Key and his party knew too much about their plans and could not be released. And so Key and his companions were kept aboard...