Francis Scott Key & the Ironic fate of his Grandchildren – Imprisonment at Fort McHenry and the Star Spangled Banner

The irony of Lincoln’s armies attacking and imprisoning many of the grandchildren of our most famous Revolutionary War era Heroes and Founding Fathers (including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, etc) was not lost on the grandson of Francis Scott Key, author of the lyrics of our National anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” His fascinating story of arrest and imprisonment follows along with my photos of famous sites related to Francis Scott Key, his parents, and many of his grandchildren, including Fort McHenry, his birthplace at Terra Rubra, his gravesite in Frederick, Maryland, his grandchildren's graves in Owing Mills, Maryland (north side of Baltimore), the Courthouse he used in Frederick Maryland, etc.

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FRANCIS “FRANK” KEY HOWARD FOUND THE IRONY OF BEING IMPRISONED BY YANKEES AT THE SAME LOCATION THAT HIS GRANDFATHER FRANCIS SCOTT KEY WAS DETAINED BY THE BRITISH 47 YEARS EARLIER. AFTERALL, WHILE BRITISH TROOPS ATTACKED BALTIMORE IN 1814, LINCOLN’S YANKEES ATTACKED BALTIMORE IN 1861.

FRANCIS WROTE THE FOLLOWING ABOUT HIS IMPRISONMENT AT FORT McHENRY:

“When I looked out in the morning, I could not help being struck by an odd and not pleasant coincidence. On that day forty-seven years before my grandfather, Mr. Francis Scott Key, then prisoner on a British ship, had witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry. When on the following morning the hostile fleet drew off, defeated, he wrote the song so long popular throughout the country, the Star Spangled Banner. As I stood upon the very scene of that conflict, I could not but contrast my position with his, forty-seven years before. The flag which he had then so proudly hailed, I saw waving at the same place over the victims of as vulgar and brutal a despotism as modern times have witnessed.”

FRANCIS WROTE ABOUT HOW YANKEES ARRESTED AND TREATED HIM:
"I hurried down to the door. When I opened it, two men entered, leaving the door ajar. One of them informed me that he had an order for my arrest. In answer to my demand that he should produce the warrant or order under which he was acting, he declined to do so, but said he had instructions from Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State. I replied that I could recognize no such authority...”

“There was no one in the house when it was thus invaded, except my wife, children and servants, and under such circumstances, I of course, abandoned all idea of resistance. I went into my library and sent for my wife, who soon joined me there, when I was informed that neither of us would he permitted to leave the room until the house had been searched...”

“The leader of the [Yankee] gang then began to search the apartment. Every drawer and box was thoroughly ransacked, as also were my portfolio and writing desk, and every other place that could possibly be supposed to hold any papers. All my private memoranda, bills, note-books, and letters were collected together to be carried off. Every room in the house subsequently underwent a similar search. After the first two rooms had been thus searched, I was told that I could not remain longer, but must prepare to go to Fort McHenry. I went up stairs to finish dressing, accompanied by the leader of the party, and I saw that men were stationed in all parts of the house, one even standing sentinel at the door of my children's nursery. Having dressed and packed up a change of clothes and a few other articles, I went down into the library, and was notified that I must at once depart. I demanded permission to send for my wife's brother or father, who were in the immediate neighborhood, but this was refused. My wife then desired to go to her children's room, and this request was also refused...”

“I reached Fort McHenry about 2 o'clock in the morning. There I found several of my friends, and others were brought in a few minutes afterwards. One or two were brought in later in the day, making fifteen in all. Among them were most of the Members of the Legislature from Baltimore, Mr. Brown, the Mayor of the City, and one of our Representatives in Congress, Mr. May. They were all gentlemen of high social position, and of unimpeachable character, and each of them had been arrested, as has been said, solely on account of his political opinions, no definite charge having been then, or afterwards, preferred against them."

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OVERVIEW:

Francis “Frank” Key Howard (October 25, 1826 – May 29, 1872) was the grandson of Francis Scott Key and Revolutionary War colonel John Eager Howard. Howard was the editor of the Daily Exchange, a Baltimore newspaper sympathetic to the Confederacy. He was arrested without a warrant just after midnight on September 13, 1861 at his home by U.S. Major General Nathaniel Prentice Banks on the direct orders of General George B. McClellan enforcing the policy of President Abraham Lincoln. The basis for his arrest was for writing a critical editorial in his newspaper of Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and criticizing the fact that the Lincoln administration had declared martial law in Baltimore and imprisoned without charge George William Brown, the mayor of Baltimore, sitting U.S. Congressman Henry May, all the police commissioners of Baltimore, and the entire city council. Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus in Maryland had already been declared unconstitutional by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney (Howard's great-uncle by marriage), but Lincoln had ignored the federal court ruling. Howard was initially confined to Fort McHenry, the same fort his grandfather Francis Scott Key saw withstand a British bombardment during the War of 1812, which inspired him to write The Star-Spangled Banner, which would become the national anthem of the United States of America. He was then transferred first to Fort Lafayette in Lower New York Bay off the coast of Brooklyn, then Fort Warren in Boston.

Francis “Frank” wrote a book on his experiences as a political prisoner completed in December 1862 and published in 1863 titled Fourteen Months in American Bastiles, two of the publishers selling the book were then arrested.

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AN INCOMPLETE LIST OF FRANCIS SCOTT KEY’S GRANDCHILDREN BURIED AT HISTORIC ST THOMAS CEMETERY IN OWINGS MILLS, MARYLAND (PHOTOS SHOWN)

--- CSA LtCol McHenry Howard, b:1836, d:1923 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
He authored “Recollections of a Maryland Confederate Soldier and staff Officer under Johnston, Jackson, and Lee.” He may have been the only soldier who was a Staff Officer to General’s Johnston, Jackson, and Lee. It should be noted that one of Robert E Lee’s other staff officers was Col John Augustine Washington who was the last private owner of George Washington's home, Mt Vernon. His memorial is now located beside George Washington's tomb.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83935923/mchenry-howard

--- CSA Capt John Eager Howard, b: 1828, d:1911 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
He initially enlisted as a private in the Confederate 1st Maryland regiment and rose successively to sergeant, quartermaster sergeant, and then to Captain in the 2nd Maryland regiment. Although he served throughout the war and went through many hot engagements, he was not fond of relating his life as a soldier to strangers.”
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98863730/john-eager-howard

--- CSA Maj Charles Howard, b: 1830, d:1895 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
Served as a staff member for several Confederate Generals.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83909547/charles-howard

Additionally, Hetty Cary Martin is also buried nearby in this same cemetery.

--- Hetty Cary Martin, b: 1836, d:1892:
She was a lineal descendant of Pocahontas and related to Thomas Jefferson. She made the first 3 battle flags of the Confederacy. She wholeheartedly supported the south and was frequently called “the most beautiful woman of her day and generation”. Her wedding in January 1865 was a major social occasion, as it was the union of one of the most beautiful southern women to one of Virginia’s most eligible bachelors, General John Pegram (whose Grandfather was a General during the War of 1812). Unfortunately, John was killed only 18 days after his marriage at the battle of Hatcher’s Run and his brother John was killed just 2 months later at the battle of Five Forks, just a week before the war effectively ended in Virginia.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20112939/hetty-martin

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AN INCOMPLETE LIST OF FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, HIS CHILDREN, AND GRANDCHILDREN BURIED AT HISTORIC MOUNT OLIVET CEMETERY, FREDERICK, MARYLAND (PHOTOS SHOWN)

-- Francis Scott Key, b: 1779, d: 1843: Lawyer, poet who penned the national anthem of the United States of America.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/578/francis-scott-key

--- Francis Scott Key Jr, b: 1806, d: 1866: Son of Francis Scott Key, Military service presently unknown
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8971649/francis-scott-key

--- John Ross Key III, b: 1837, d: 1920:
(Francis Scott Key’s Grandson) He became a lieutenant in the Confederate Engineers, serving as a mapmaker in Charleston, SC and Richmond. His panoramic view of the bombardment of Fort Sumter was widely displayed. He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery beside the original gravesite of Francis Scott Key (whose remains were moved about 200 feet near the front entrance of the cemetery) and beside Francis Scott Key who bears the name of his father. It is undermined whether Francis Scott Key (Jr) served in the Confederacy due to his age. John Ross Key III’s father (John Ross Key II) was the 4th child and 2nd son of Francis Scott Key. He was the only child of John Ross Key II who was the son of Francis Scott Key.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8971765/john-ross-key

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AN AMUSING ACCOUNT OF UNION/YANKEE RECRUITING OFFICERS TRYING TO ENLIST FRANCIS SCOTT KEY’S DESCENDANTS FOR THE MILITARY:

Two [Union] men arrived at the Howard house and after talking with a servant insisted on seeing Mrs. Howard. Elizabeth Key Howard was the daughter of Francis Scott Key of the Star Spangled Banner fame as well as the niece of the Chief Supreme Court Justice Roger Brooke Taney. Mrs. Howard met the men at the door and they said ” Madam,we are the enrolling officers and we have come to get the names of the male members of your family – Have you a husband or sons capable of bearing arms? Mrs. Howard said ” Yes a husband and six sons.” “Your husband, what is his name and where is he?” “Charles Howard (Charles Howard was the son of John Eager Howard, the hero at the Battle of the Cowpens in the Revolutionary War), he is held prisoner by the Yankees at Fort Warren ” “And your eldest son?” “Frank Key Howard, he is also in prison with his father.” “And your next son?” ” John Eager Howard, he is a Captain in the Confederate Army.” “And the next?” “Charles Howard, he is a Major in the Confederate Army.” “And the next?” James Howard, he is a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Confederate Army.” “And the next?” “Edward Lloyd Howard, he is a surgeon in the Confederate Army.” During this time the men were becoming flustered and finally said “And your youngest son?” “McHenry Howard, he is also in the Southern Army and with Stonewall Jackson and I expect he will be here soon” (This was during the Maryland Invasion by Lee and Jackson) Mrs. Howard proceeds to shut the door in their faces and the enrolling officers retired to the sidewalk and wrote the following note, slid it under the door and left.

The letter read:

“To Mr. McHenry Howard,
You are hereby notified that you have been this day enrolled by us in the Militia Forces of the United States, in the State of Maryland, under the Act of Congress of July, 1862, in the Third Enrollment District of Baltimore County corresponding to the 3rd Election District of said County, and will hold yourself in readiness for any such Military duty as under the Laws and Constitution of the United States may be required of you.”

R.S Williamson, John S Stitcher
Enrolling Officers
September 1862


When McHenry Howard finally arrived home to Baltimore on May 27th 1865 he found a note waiting for him.
- From “Recollections of a Maryland Confederate Soldier under Johnston, Jackson and Lee” by McHenry Howard.

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REFERENCES:
https://marylandreb.wordpress.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Key_Howard,
https://archive.org/details/fourteenmonths00howa
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/225559540/francis-key-howard
https://marylandreb.wordpress.com/

"Howard, F. K. (Frank Key), 1826-1872". Library of Congress. Retrieved July 9, 2014. "au:howard, francis key". OCLC World Cat. Retrieved July 9, 2014.

Hollingsworth Register. H.A. Hollingsworth. 1987. p. 67.

Daily Ohio statesman. (Columbus, Ohio), December 25, 1862. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

Howard, F. K. (Frank Key) (1863). Fourteen Months in American Bastiles. London: H.F. Mackintosh. Retrieved August 18, 2014.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. (2004). Lincoln on democracy. Boritt, G. S., 1940-, Holzer, Harold., Cuomo, Mario M., 1932-2015. (Rev. ed.). New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823248117. OCLC 821725593.

Marshall, John A., American Bastille: A history of the illegal arrests and imprisonment of American citizens during the late Civil War (Civil liberties in American history) ISBN 1-4179-3078-0

American Bastille (Civil liberties in American history) by John A. Marshall Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc; 4th edition (November 30, 1970) Language: English ISBN 0-306-71963-0 ISBN 978-0-306-71963-9 Schoettler, Carl (November 27, 2001). "A time liberties weren't priority". baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 9, 2019.

"News of the Day". The Charleston Daily News. The Charleston daily news. (Charleston, S.C.). June 3, 1872. ISSN 2163-4386. Retrieved April 9, 2019.

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COMMENTARY ON PHOTOS:

- At the Francis Scott Key Gravesite and Memorial at Mt Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, Maryland. Located at these map coordinates: (39°24'22.2N 77°24'45.8W)

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key:

Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843)[3] was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who is best known for writing the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner".

Key observed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 during the War of 1812. He was inspired upon seeing the American flag still flying over the fort at dawn and wrote the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry"; it was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song "To Anacreon in Heaven". The song with Key's lyrics became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem, finally achieving official status more than a century later under President Herbert Hoover as the national anthem.

Key was a lawyer in Maryland and Washington D.C. for four decades and worked on important cases, including the Burr conspiracy trial, and he argued numerous times before the Supreme Court. He was nominated for District Attorney for the District of Columbia by President Andrew Jackson, where he served from 1833 to 1841. Key was a devout Episcopalian.

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Photo:

Depiction of Francis Scott Key aboard a British ship observing the intact flag after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814 during the War of 1812. He was so inspired by the scene that he penned a poem called “Defence of Fort M’Henry” that became the lyrics of our National Anthem.

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Photo:

My family and I at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland.


Excerpt from; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_McHenry:
Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy from the Chesapeake Bay on September 13–14, 1814. It was first built in 1798 and was used continuously by the U.S. armed forces through World War I and by the Coast Guard in World War II. It was designated a national park in 1925, and in 1939 was redesignated a "National Monument and Historic Shrine".

During the War of 1812 an American storm flag, 17 by 25 feet was flown over Fort McHenry during the bombardment... The sight of the ensign inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" that was later set to the tune "To Anacreon in Heaven" and became known as "The Star Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States.

POW Camp:
During the American Civil War the area where Fort McHenry sits served as a military prison, confining both Confederate soldiers, as well as a large number of Maryland political figures who were suspected of being Confederate sympathizers. The imprisoned included newly elected Baltimore Mayor George William Brown, the city council, and the new police commissioner, George P. Kane, and members of the Maryland General Assembly along with several newspaper editors and owners. Francis Scott Key's grandson, Francis Key Howard, was one of these political detainees. Some of the cells used still exist and can be visited at the fort. Fort McHenry also served to train artillery at this time; this service is the origin of the Rodman guns presently located and displayed at the fort.

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Photo:

At the gravesites of the parents of Francis Scott Key at Mt Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland. The memorial at Confederate Row is in the background

ADDITIONAL READING:
Excerpt on Capt John Ross Key (Francis Scott Key’s Father):
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2446/john-ross-key
Lawyer, Commissioned Officer of the Continental Army, father of Francis Scott Key. Born at Redland, Frederick County, Maryland to English parents Francis Key, who's parents had come to Maryland in 1726 and his wife Ann Arnold Ross, who was a strong influence on her grandson Francis when he lived with her near Annapolis when he was in school there. Mustered into service at Frederick on June 21st, 1775 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Captain Thomas Price's Maryland Rifle Company. They were one of the first military forces that came to aid General Washington in Boston, July-August, 1775.

Excerpt on Anne Phebe Penn Dagworthy Charlton Key (Francis Scott Key’s Mother):
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2445/anne-phebe_penn_dagworthy-key
Wife of General John Ross Key and mother of Francis Scott Key. Born in the city of Frederick to Arthur Charlton and his wife Eleanor Harrison she was married at the city of Frederick on October 19, 1775. She gave birth to six children, three of whom reached maturity. Francis Scott Key, Anne Arnold Phoebe Charlton Key who would marry Roger Brooke Taney and John Alfred Key who would die in 1841 at Edgefield, South Carolina. She died at the age of 75 at her home, Terra Rubra, north of Tom's Creek in Frederick County, Maryland.

Excerpt on Confederate Row:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=103169
Frederick County was central to the Civil War military campaigns of 1862, 1863, and 1864, while Frederick City served as a major hospital center for soldiers of both armies. Hundreds of men died here, prompting the need for local Burial. Many Southern families lacked the financial or transportation means to bring loved ones back home. Unlike their Union counterparts first placed in this cemetery, Confederate casualties were not afforded the later honor of reburial in nearby Antietam National Cemetery. Today, 275 identified soldiers lay beside 29 unknowns in Mount Olivet's famed “Confederate Row.”

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Photo:

At the original gravesite of Francis Scott Key in Mt Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, Maryland, before he was reinterned near the front of the cemetery beside the large monument. The historical Confederate war Memorial (destroyed by leftist extremists last year, June 2020) is in the background.

Also nearby in the same family plot is the Francis Scott Key Jr (his 2nd child and oldest son) and a grandson, CSA Lt John Ross Key III

Excerpt on Francis Scott Key Jr (son of Francis Scott Key):
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8971649/francis-scott-key
Husband of Elizabeth Lloyd Harwood and son of Francis Scott Key.

John Ross Key III (Grandson of Francis Scott Key):
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8971765/john-ross-key

--- John Ross Key III, b: 1837, d: 1920: (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson) He became a lieutenant in the Confederate Engineers, serving as a mapmaker in Charleston, SC and Richmond. His panoramic view of the bombardment of Fort Sumter was widely displayed. He is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery beside the original gravesite of Francis Scott Key (whose remains were moved about 200 feet near the front entrance of the cemetery) and beside Francis Scott Key who bears the name of his father. It is undermined whether Francis Scott Key (Jr) served in the Confederacy due to his age. John Ross Key III’s father (John Ross Key II) was the 4th child and 2nd son of Francis Scott Key. He was the only child of John Ross Key II who was the son of Francis Scott Key.

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Photo:

At Mt Olivet Cemetery in Frederick Maryland. A statue of Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney is nearby in the background

Excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_B._Taney:
Roger Brooke Taney (/ˈtɔːni/; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. He served as chief justice for 28 years, 198 days, the second longest tenure of any chief justice,[56] and was the oldest ever serving Chief Justice in United States history.[58] Taney had administered the presidential oath of office to seven incoming Presidents. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Taney served as the United States Attorney General and United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson.

After Lincoln's election, Taney sympathized with the seceding Southern states and blamed Lincoln for the war, but he did not resign from the Supreme Court. He strongly disagreed with President Abraham Lincoln's broader interpretation of executive power in the American Civil War. In Ex parte Merryman, Taney held that the president could not suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Lincoln retaliated to the ruling by invoking nonacquiescence. Taney later tried to hold one of Lincoln's generals in contempt of court and the Lincoln Administration again invoked nonacquiescence in response. Taney finally relented claiming “I have exercised all the power which the Constitution and laws confer on me, but that power has been resisted by a force too strong for me to overcome."

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Photo:

Near the Francis Scott Key plot at the Confederate Row Memorial. The +century old historical war memorial was destroyed by leftist extremists last year. Both the Memorial and the row of headstones can be seen in the background.

Excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Olivet_Cemetery_(Frederick): On August 7, 1879, a meeting was held to organize a group called the Ladies Monumental Association of Frederick County, whose purpose it was to raise the funds needed to erect a monument to the 408 ‘unknown’ deceased Confederate soldiers interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery.[4] The monument was unveiled on June 2, 1881, to honor the soldiers of the Confederate army who fell in battles of the Civil War and who are buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. The monument was 15 feet tall. The statue of the Confederate soldier was created in Italy of Carrara marble and stood upon a base made of granite.[4] The inscriptions read as follows:

Front panel:”Erected A.D. 1880, by the Ladies’ Monumental Association of Frederick County, in honor of the soldiers of the Confederate army who fell in the battles of Antietam and Monocacy and elsewhere, and who are buried here.”

Right panel: ”Soldiers rest, thy warfare o’er, Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking, Dream of battle-fields no more, Days of danger, nights of waking.”

Left panel: ”To the unknown soldiers whose bodies here rest. We cannot inscribe their names upon tablets of stone, but we may hope to read them in a purer and unchangeable record.”

Rear panel: ”Their praises will be sung In some yet unmolded tongue, Far on in summers that we shall not see.”

The statue was toppled, beheaded and splattered in red paint in June of 2020. At the time caretakers said it was unlikely they'd be able to repair it. A week earlier, the cemetery had removed the Confederate flag that flew next to it.[5]

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Excerpt on Confederate Row:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=103169
Frederick County was central to the Civil War military campaigns of 1862, 1863, and 1864, while Frederick City served as a major hospital center for soldiers of both armies. Hundreds of men died here, prompting the need for local Burial. Many Southern families lacked the financial or transportation means to bring loved ones back home. Unlike their Union counterparts first placed in this cemetery, Confederate casualties were not afforded the later honor of reburial in nearby Antietam National Cemetery. Today, 275 identified soldiers lay beside 29 unknowns in Mount Olivet's famed “Confederate Row.”

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Photo:

Visiting Terra Rubra, the birthplace of Frances Scott Key, located on the far northern side of Maryland near the Pennsylvania border:
Excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Rubra:

Terra Rubra is a historic home and plantation located near Keysville, Carroll County, Maryland, United States. It was the birth site of Francis Scott Key in 1779. The present Federal-style house was built in the 1850s after the Key residence had become badly deteriorated. The original house was built in the 1770s by Francis Key for his son, John Ross Key, father of Francis Scott Key.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

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Photo:

Visiting historic St Thomas Cemetery in Owings Mills, Maryland (north side of Baltimore) where at least 3 of Francis Scott Key’s grandchildren are interned. Here’s a brief synopsis on each of them:

--- CSA LtCol McHenry Howard, b:1836, d:1923 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
He authored “Recollections of a Maryland Confederate Soldier and staff Officer under Johnston, Jackson, and Lee.” He may have been the only soldier who was a Staff Officer to General’s Johnston, Jackson, and Lee. It should be noted that one of Robert E Lee’s other staff officers was Col John Augustine Washington who was the last private owner of George Washington's home, Mt Vernon. His memorial is now located beside George Washington's tomb.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83935923/mchenry-howard

--- CSA Capt John Eager Howard, b: 1828, d:1911 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
He initially enlisted as a private in the Confederate 1st Maryland regiment and rose successively to sergeant, quartermaster sergeant, and then to Captain in the 2nd Maryland regiment. Although he served throughout the war and went through many hot engagements, he was not fond of relating his life as a soldier to strangers.”
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98863730/john-eager-howard

--- CSA Maj Charles Howard, b: 1830, d:1895 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
Served as a staff member for several Confederate Generals. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83909547/charles-howard

Additionally, Hetty Cary Martin is also buried nearby in this same cemetery.

--- Hetty Cary Martin, b: 1836, d:1892:
She was a lineal descendant of Pocahontas and related to Thomas Jefferson. She made the first 3 battle flags of the Confederacy. She wholeheartedly supported the south and was frequently called “the most beautiful woman of her day and generation”. Her wedding in January 1865 was a major social occasion, as it was the union of one of the most beautiful southern women to one of Virginia’s most eligible bachelors, General John Pegram (whose Grandfather was a General during the War of 1812). Unfortunately, John was killed only 18 days after his marriage at the battle of Hatcher’s Run and his brother John was killed just 2 months later at the battle of Five Forks, just a week before the war effectively ended in Virginia.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20112939/hetty-martin


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Photo:

This is the photo of LtCol McHenry Howard, the grandson of Francis Scott Key. More photos are found at his link below. He is interned at the historic St Thomas Cemetery in Owings Mills, Maryland where a couple of his other family members are also laid to rest. Here’s a brief synopsis on each of them:


--- CSA LtCol McHenry Howard, b:1836, d:1923 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
He authored “Recollections of a Maryland Confederate Soldier and staff Officer under Johnston, Jackson, and Lee.” He may have been the only soldier who was a Staff Officer to General’s Johnston, Jackson, and Lee. It should be noted that one of Robert E Lee’s other staff officers was Col John Augustine Washington who was the last private owner of George Washington's home, Mt Vernon. His memorial is now located beside George Washington's tomb.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83935923/mchenry-howard

--- CSA Capt John Eager Howard, b: 1828, d:1911 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
He initially enlisted as a private in the Confederate 1st Maryland regiment and rose successively to sergeant, quartermaster sergeant, and then to Captain in the 2nd Maryland regiment. Although he served throughout the war and went through many hot engagements, he was not fond of relating his life as a soldier to strangers.”
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98863730/john-eager-howard

--- CSA Maj Charles Howard, b: 1830, d:1895 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
Served as a staff member for several Confederate Generals.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83909547/charles-howard

Additionally, Hetty Cary Martin is also buried nearby in this same cemetery.

--- Hetty Cary Martin, b: 1836, d:1892:
She was a lineal descendant of Pocahontas and related to Thomas Jefferson. She made the first 3 battle flags of the Confederacy. She wholeheartedly supported the south and was frequently called “the most beautiful woman of her day and generation”. Her wedding in January 1865 was a major social occasion, as it was the union of one of the most beautiful southern women to one of Virginia’s most eligible bachelors, General John Pegram (whose Grandfather was a General during the War of 1812). Unfortunately, John was killed only 18 days after his marriage at the battle of Hatcher’s Run and his brother John was killed just 2 months later at the battle of Five Forks, just a week before the war effectively ended in Virginia.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20112939/hetty-martin

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Photo:

Clip from a contemporary newspaper: “Every male descendant of the author of this song, the “Star Spangled Banner,” is now in the Confederate Army.

The same can be said for all the descendants of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Patrick Henry, etc.

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Photo:

Capt John Eager Howard obituary excerpts:
“No man in Maryland came of more distinguished ancestry than did Captain Howard. His two grandfathers Gen John Eager Howard of Revolutionary War fame and Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star Spangled Banner,” will never be forgotten in the history of this country…”

“The Captain enlisted as a private in the First Maryland Regiment (Confederate) May 21, 1861 and rose successively, to sergeant, quartermaster sergeant, and then to captain in the second Maryland Regiment. He later became Acting Assistant Quatermaster in the latter organization. Although he served throughout the war and went through many hot engagements, he was not fond of relating his life as a soldier to strangers… Captain Howard had five brothers, all of whom fought on the side of the Confederacy except Mr Frank Key Howard, who was editor of the Baltimore Gazette, and was thrown into a Federal prison with his father, who was president of the city’s Police Board.”

Article also found here:
--- CSA Capt John Eager Howard, b: 1828, d:1911 (Francis Scott Key’s Grandson):
He initially enlisted as a private in the Confederate 1st Maryland regiment and rose successively to sergeant, quartermaster sergeant, and then to Captain in the 2nd Maryland regiment. Although he served throughout the war and went through many hot engagements, he was not fond of relating his life as a soldier to strangers.”
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98863730/john-eager-howard

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Photo:

At the Frederick County Courthouse in Frederick, Maryland. Read about the many notable things that happened here.
Excerpt from the historical marker I’m beside:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2815

“Connections with the Civil War abound around this Courthouse Square, where the first official act of defiance against the British crown - the 1765 Stamp Act Repudiation - occurred almost a century earlier… Taney and his brother-in-law, Francis Scott Key, both practiced law here.”

“Governor Thomas Hicks called a special session of the Maryland Legislature in 1861 to address the question of secession. Because of the large number of US troops in the capital city of Annapolis, the legislature met here at the site of the former Frederick County courthouse. Finding the space inadequate, the lawmakers convened a block away in Kemp Hall. Under orders from President Lincoln, legislators likely to favor the South were detained in route. With no quorum, Marland’s legislature could not vote to secede. The courthouse burned during the session, and the legislature promptly authorized financing to construct the present building, now City Hall.”

“Both Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and President Lincoln were visitors to this neighborhood in 1862. The reconstructed home of Barbara Fritchie, poet John Greenleaf Whittier's Civil War heroine, is reached by traveling one block south on Court Street, then one block west on Patrick Street.”

The other historical marker is labeled, “No to the Stamp Act”.
Read more here:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=103825

Found at this map coordinates: (39°24'57.4N 77°24'45.1W)

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Photo:

This marker is found on the Frederick County Courthouse grounds.
Read more here:
https://historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM19RX_fredericks-poet-lawyer_Frederick-MD.html

Born in what was then northeast Frederick County, Key's parents first brought him to "Frederick-Town" to be baptized. His parents often rode to the county seat here. Key walked these streets whenever the family came to Frederick.

After attending school in Annapolis and studying law for four years, Key opened a law office near here. He argued cases in the old court house where today's City Hall is located. He later appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, and practiced law until the end of his life.

Key's legal skills led him to a daring role during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 where he negotiated the release of an American prisoner. His eloquence as a writer and poet gave us the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Early Life of Francis Scott Key

1779
Francis Scott Key is born at Terra Rubra, his parent's estate, in what was then northeast Frederick County.

1789
After ten years growing up in Frederick County, Key attends St. John's Grammar School and then St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland.

1796
Key graduates from St. John's College at the top of his class, then studies law.

1801
Key begins his law career in Frederick. His college friend, Robert Brooke Taney, also practices law in Frederick, and later marries Key's sister Anne.

1802
Key marries Mary Tayloe Lloyd in Annapolis.

1803
Key moves to Washington, D.C., to become a partner in the law practice of his uncle, Phillip Barton Key.

1814
Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner" which would become the national anthem of the United States in 1931.

(sidebar)
In 1840, Key, at age 61, came here to visit his aged cousin Eleanor Potts who was then totally blind. She lived on Council Street across the courtyard. Key promised her a poem, and she listened as he read the stanzas which included these lines:

The "light of other days" was hers,
Of happy days now past and gone,
It called up friends long lov'd and mourn'd,
And sweetly round her shone.


Twas the, as by her side I sat,
She softly touch'd the light guitar,
And tones that had my childhood charm'd,
Fell sweetly, sadly on my ear.


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Photo:

This is Kemp Hall where legislators from Maryland attempted to gather to discuss secession. But Lincoln had suspended the writ of habeas corpus and began arresting legislators to prevent further sessions.

Read about this incredible moment in US history here where the US Constitution was disregarded:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=152357

The full text of the historical marker:


The building in front of you, Kemp Hall, was the capitol of Maryland during the spring and summer of 1861, as the state came perilously close to leaving the Union. Because secession would have placed the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C., between the Confederate states of Maryland and Virginia, President Abraham Lincoln could not let it happen.

Two weeks after the Confederate capture of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, Maryland Gov. Thomas H. Hicks called the General Assembly into special session here in Frederick, a strongly Unionist city, to debate secession. The state capital, Annapolis, was seething with resentment over the recent Federal occupation of that city.

Both the Senate and the House of Delegates began the session on April 26, 1861, in the former Frederick County Courthouse building located two blocks west of here. The next day, the senators and delegates moved here to Kemp Hall, a larger meeting space that belonged to the German Reformed Church.

As early as June 20, under Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, Federal troops began arresting suspected pro-secession legislators. They started with Delegate Ross Winans of Baltimore, who was stopped on his way home from the session here. He, like several other lawmakers, was confined briefly under Lincoln's orders.

The legislature continued to meet here at Kemp Hall throughout the summer. Finally, lacking a quorum — primarily because of the arrest of so many secession-leaning senators and delegates — it adjourned in September without ever considering a secession bill.
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The plaque on the wall is described here:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=118973


It reads in part: “A peace and safety bill was referred to a joint committee and reported favorably, but after an amendment demanding secession was rejected the bill was recommitted. The legislature adjourned in September without passage of the bill because of lack of a quorum due to the arrest of a number of senators and delegates by Federal order, and Maryland never seceded from the Union.”

Located at these map coordinates:
39° 24.931′ N, 77° 24.643′ W


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