Published Jun 10, 2026, 10:04 AM EDT
Historic Gold Sword Tied to 'Star-Spangled Banner' May Garner $475K at Auction
Other items up for auction are linked to George Washington and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.
A gold-hilted presentation sword made in honor of Brevet Lt. Col. George Armistead, the Fort McHenry commander whose flag inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner,” is headed to auction June 27. (Courtesy of Rock Island Auction Co.)
In the dark hours before dawn on Sept. 14, 1814, the fate of Baltimore was hanging over Fort McHenry in smoke, fire and wet canvas. British warships had spent the night hammering the fort from the harbor, trying to break American defenses after burning Washington weeks earlier. Inside the fort, Maj. George Armistead and roughly 1,000 defenders waited out the bombardment. Outside of it, while detained aboard a British vessel, Francis Scott Key watched for proof that the fort had not fallen. At sunrise, Armistead gave the order that would help write a country’s soundtrack. The smaller storm flag came down. The massive garrison flag he had commissioned the year before went up.
