The Banned Verse of the U.S. National Anthem They Don’t Want You to Know #blackhistory

Baltimore, Maryland… 1814. You think you know the U.S. national anthem — but there’s a verse almost no one is allowed to sing. Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner during the War of 1812 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry. What most Americans don’t know is that the original third verse celebrated the deaths of enslaved people who escaped slavery. The line — “No refuge could save the hireling and slave” — was a rebuke of Black men who fled bondage and joined the British, who promised freedom in exchange for fighting against the United States. Thousands of enslaved Americans escaped in 1814. Many joined the British Corps of Colonial Marines — trained, armed, and determined to win both the war and their freedom. They fought at Bladensburg. They marched on Washington, D.C. They defeated U.S. forces again and again. For Francis Scott Key — a slaveholder and lawyer tied to slavery — these Black freedom fighters were a threat, not heroes. That hatred was written directly into the anthem. When the song became the official national anthem in 1931, the third verse was quietly removed from public memory. So how do you reconcile “land of the free” with a verse that once mocked Black men fighting for freedom? 💬 Comment “Sing All the Verses” if you believe the full story matters. Follow for the history they never taught you. #StarSpangledBanner, #NationalAnthemHistory, #FrancisScottKey, #WarOf1812, #BlackHistory, #HiddenHistory, #AmericanHistory, #ColonialMarines, #SlaveryHistory, #FortMcHenry #HistoryTheyDidntTeach, #ErasedHistory, #TruthMatters, #BlackResistance, #UntoldHistory, #FreedomFighters, #SingAllTheVerses, #WokeHistory, #ViralHistory, #JusticeTruth