Randolph had had his faith shaken by reading Voltaire and other Enlightenment authors. Among those whose faith Key’s help sustained was John Randolph of Roanoke. Though he decided to remain in his law career, his Christian beliefs continued strong and his Christian work active throughout his life. At one time, in 1814, he even considered entering the ministry. Key's Christian convictions were intense and influenced all his relations and actions. When the seeds sprouted, they took the shape of the children’s names - Marie, Lizzie, Anna, etc. Once he instructed the gardener to make a tiny round garden for each child. Francis Scott delighted in sharing the nature of the area with his children and often planned special surprises for them in the gardens. The shady lawn and orchard of the Key mansion sloped to the edge of the Potomac River, providing a lovely setting for the frolics and gambols of the Key children. Even in the busiest of times, Key never failed to conduct family prayers in his home twice a day, always including the servants in these family devotions. Soon after his marriage, Key began to practice law in Washington, D.C. The Keys had eleven children, six boys and five girls, and their family life together was a happy one. In 1802 Key married the beautiful Mary Taylor Lloyd in the elegant drawing room of the Lloyd mansion in Annapolis. John’s College at the age of seventeen, Francis went on to study law. Francis stayed with his grandmother while he attended school in Annapolis. The sensitive Francis Scott was deeply impressed by her strong faith. She had lost her eyesight by fire when she was rescuing two servants from the flames of her father’s burning house, but she bore her terrible affliction with Christian fortitude. The Keys were wealthy landowners from Frederick, Maryland and Francis Scott early developed a love for the land and home of Terra Rubra, his father’s estate.Īmong the strong influences on Key’s character in his early years was his grandmother, Ann Arnold Ross Key. His father, John Ross Key, fought in the American Revolution and generously armed and equipped a regiment at his own expense. How did Key come to find himself watching the fate of his country from such a vantage point? What kind of a man was he to write a song that has ever since touched and thrilled his countrymen?įrancis Scott Key was born on August 1, 1779, while the young United States was waging the war that would establish its independence. It was during those hours of intense watching and waiting that the words of a song began to take shape in the poetic mind of Francis Scott Key, one of the men in the boat. The battle seemed over, but what was the outcome? The three men in the boat watched eagerly to see if their flag was still flying over the fort and the city. Only occasional firing broke the stillness. Then in the early morning hours, there was silence. The noise of the rockets, bombs, and cannon-fire had been almost constant throughout the day and continued into the night. The fighting was intense the bombs from the enemy ships readily found their mark in the attacked fort. When the three men, then, found themselves observing the awesome attack launched against their fellow countrymen, their concern was great. Their country had already experienced many defeats, and their capital city had been burned. It had been almost twenty-five hours earlier when, finding themselves detained among the enemy ships, they watched the enemy launch a combined army-navy attack on one of their nation’s most important cities. Daylight would show what lay ahead for their city and nation. They were torn between a fearful apprehension and hopeful expectancy. As the early light of dawn crept through the darkness, haze, and smoke, three men in a small boat tensely waited.