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"Were the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air imaginary? No, but the home-teams' were privately owned." The star-spangled banner was written in 1814 d
by iends 12y ago
"Were the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air imaginary? No, but the home-teams' were privately owned."
The star-spangled banner was written in 1814 during the War of 1812, which is definitely not the 18th century. Fort McHenry was also commanded by the US Army and not a state's militia, so it's not clear who owned the cannons.
- 15155 12y agoExact numbers are escaping me, and I'll have to find a source, but, there were around ~500 privateer ships involved in the War of 1812, and ~20-30 US Navy vessels. Suffice it to say: there were substantially more privately-owned armaments, crews, etc. than government.