AS WE SING, LET US ALSO REMEMBER

If you have ever found your eye tearing over the flutter of the red, white and blue; or felt the harrowed pangs of patriotism pound within your breast at the sight of a passing American flag, thank the most famous flag of all— the Star Spangled Banner—for the privilege.

Before the battle of Baltimore and the successful defense of Fort McHenry, the American flag was relegated to serve primarily as a political marker, identifying the current possessor of a position or piece of property. Rarely c...