Rep. Walsh offered the following resolution:

House Resolution No. 386.  

            A resolution to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner.

            Whereas, Major George Armistead, the American commander at Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, in 1813 requested two large 15-star flags for the fort, a large 30’ by 42’ great garrison flag and smaller 17’ by 25’ storm flag, to be flown in inclement weather; and

            Whereas, Mary Young Pickersgill, a Baltimore seamstress, was commissioned to create both flags at a cost of $405.90 for the garrison flag and $168.54 for the storm flag; and          

            Whereas, The British attack on Fort McHenry on September 13 and 14 of 1814 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the lyric “In Defence of Fort M’Henry” to the tune of “To Anacreon in Heaven”. Key’s lyric was quickly printed and then re-named “The Star-Spangled Banner” and performed publicly in the Baltimore area; and

            Whereas, President Herbert Hoover signed the Act of Congress designating “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the National Anthem of the United States of America on March 3, 1931; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner. We urge local communities, elected officials, civic and religious leaders, educators, local historians, and the general public to organize and hold special events in their communities in mid-September to help commemorate this important chapter in American and Michigan history.