{"product_id":"forever-stamps-2014-star-spangled-banner-first-class-postage","title":"Star-Spangled Banner 2014 Forever Stamps — 200th Anniversary, First-Class Postage","description":"\u003ch2\u003eIssue facts\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIssue Date: January 28, 2014\u003cbr\u003eCity: Independence, MO\u003cbr\u003ePrinted by: CCL Label Inc.\u003cbr\u003ePrinting Method: Photogravure\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe photograph\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGary Clark shot the flag flying over Fort McHenry during fireworks at the annual Defenders' Day celebration. Coordinating the two in a stiff wind was the hard part — the flag and the burst had to land in the same frame at the same instant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe flag itself\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the War of 1812, officials commissioned Mary Pickersgill to make a flag large enough that the British could see it from a distance, to fly over Baltimore's Fort McHenry — a certain target.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe produced \"one American ensign, 30×42 feet, first quality bunting,\" plus a smaller storm flag for bad weather. It took over 400 yards of wool bunting, and the assembly was done on the floor of a nearby brewery after hours because nowhere else was large enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSeptember 13, 1814\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe British bombardment ran 25 hours. Francis Scott Key watched from a ship in Chesapeake Bay, and given the heavy rain, what he saw at \"twilight's last gleaming\" was probably the smaller storm flag. Toward morning the oversized ensign went up over the fort, and Key started writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt came closer to ending differently than most people realize. Only the fort's commander knew that the gunpowder magazine — which took some 2,000 shells over the course of the night — was not bombproof. One direct hit would have destroyed Fort McHenry outright.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forever Stamp Center","offers":[{"title":"100 Stamps (5 Books)","offer_id":47100624404679,"sku":"2014GQ-C-5","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300 Stamps (15 Books)","offer_id":47100624437447,"sku":"2014GQ-C-15","price":54.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500 Stamps (25 Books)","offer_id":47100624470215,"sku":"2014GQ-C-25","price":89.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1000 Stamps (50 Books)","offer_id":47100624502983,"sku":"2014GQ-C-50","price":149.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5000 Stamps (250 Books)","offer_id":47100624535751,"sku":"2014GQ-C-250","price":699.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/6250\/4647\/files\/star-spangled-banner-2014-forever-stamps-main-scaled-1-1-800x600_b08a8e56-cb59-42a6-85f0-a83bd5adffa4.jpg?v=1788604678","url":"https:\/\/www.foreverstampcenter.com\/products\/forever-stamps-2014-star-spangled-banner-first-class-postage","provider":"center","version":"1.0","type":"link"}