Crewmembers aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin render a salute after setting the Francis Scott Key buoy in Baltimore, Md., June 6, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jasmine Mieszala)
BALTIMORE — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin, a 175-foot buoy tender homeported in Baltimore, set the historic Francis Scott Key buoy Monday in the Patapsco River near the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The buoy is set to symbolically mark the location where the ship carrying Francis Scott Key, the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was anchored during the bombardment of Fort McHenry on the night of Sept. 13-14, 1814, during the War of 1812.
Each year the buoy is set in the spring and removed in the fall.
“To be in that same exact position and setting this buoy so every mariner knows that this is where he wrote ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is a pretty special experience,” said Lt. Lisa De Pace, the commanding officer of the cutter James Rankin.
Scott Sheads, a park ranger from Fort McHenry, joined the crew of the cutter James Rankin to provide a narrative of events that occurred that history day. The cutter James Rankin had more than 50 visitors attend the event.
