History 101: The Star Spangled Banner Mystery Cache
History 101: The Star Spangled Banner
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Thanks to the GCHR community for nominating this cache for a 2012 Hidey Award as part of the History 101 Series in the Outstanding Historical category.
THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES! To get the correct coordinates of the cache you must answer the following questions about the history of the “Star Spangled Banner”. This quiz is not intended to be difficult but to educate. The answers can be easily found with an internet search or two.
ONLY AVAILABLE DAWN TO DUSK!!!
The “Star Spangled Banner” was originally a poem written by Francis Scott Key the morning after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry from the deck of a Royal Navy ship during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. We play this song before sporting events, military gatherings and PTA meetings but what do you really know about this song? Track down the answers to the following to find “Old Glory” and the cache.
1. Francis Scott Key was an amateur poet, what was his real profession?
a. Doctor.........(A=3)
b. Politician…..(A=4)
c. Lawyer…….(A=5)
d. Playwright....(A=6)
2. Why was Key even on a British warship the night of the attack?
a. Was captured as a spy…………………(B=5)
b. Was attempting to negotiate a truce…..(B=6)
c. Was negotiating a prisoner exchange...(B=7)
d. Was visiting an English relative ………..(B=8)
3. The title of the original poem we know as the “Star Spangled Banner” is :
a. “Defence of Fort McHenry”……………(C=8)
b. “The Battle of Baltimore”………………(C=9)
c. “The Bombardment of McHenry”…......(C=7)
d. “Old Glory Still Waves”………………...(C=6)
4. The flag Key saw waving above the Fort the morning after the battle had ____ stars and ___ stripes.
a. 13 / 13……(D=0)
b. 15 / 13……(D=8)
c. 13 / 15……(D=9)
d. 15 / 15……(D=6)
5. The music of the National Anthem is borrowed from an English drinking song, which one?
a. “Fathom the Bowl”…………….(E=7)
b. “To Anacreon in Heaven”…….(E=9)
c. “The Fields of Athenry”……....(E=8)
d. “Seven Drunken Nights”………(E=0)
6. In 1889, which service was first to designate the “Star Spangled Banner” the song to be played at the raising of the flag?
a. Army………….(F=4)
b. Marine Corp…(F=3)
c. Air Force…….(F=2)
d. Navy………….(F=1)
7. The “Star Spangled Banner” was recognized by President Wilson in 1916 but did not become the National Anthem until designated by a congressional resolution and signed into law in :
a. 1929…..(G=3)
b. 1930…..(G=5)
c. 1931…..(G=7)
d. 1932…..(G=9)
8. Americans are familiar with the first stanza of the song but there are four stanzas. In 1861 a fifth stanza was added by ____________ as an expression of disgust over the start of the civil war, and the song did appear with the fifth stanza in some songbooks of the time.
a. Abraham Lincoln…………(H=0)
b. Oliver Wendell Holmes….(H=3)
c. U.S. Grant…………………(H=2)
d. Robert E. Lee…………….(H=1)
9. The Star Spangled Banner Flag flown over Fort McHenry was sewn under government commission by ___________ at a cost of $405.90.
a. Mary Pickersgill…….(I=2)
b. Betsy Ross…………(I=3)
c. Jane Gartner………..(I=4)
d. Hannah Stephens….(I=5)
10. In the movie “Eagle Eye” the explosive set to kill the President was to be triggered when a high ____ note, corresponding to the word “free” is played on the trumpet.
a. A……(J=0)
b. F….…(J=2)
c. G……(J=1)
d. E…….(J=3)
Use your answers to fill in the following: N 36 AB.CDE W 076 FG.HIJ
Easily categorized as a national treasure, the flag that flew over Fort McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words that would become the National Anthem of the United States can be still be seen today at the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C..
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ner lbh fb ehfgl gung lbh arrq n uvag. Rznvy zr vs lbh ernyyl qb. TCFe jnf ernqvat +/- 12 sg.