Francis Scott Key was born on his family's 2,800-acre estate, Terra Rubra, near Frederick County, Maryland, on August 1, 1779. He was the son of John Ross Key, a soldier who had distinguished himself in battle during the Revolutionary War (1775-83). The Key family was friends with President George Washington. Key became an excellent horseman and attended St. John's College in Annapolis, graduating in 1796, then earning a degree in law. He established a law practice in Frederick, Maryland, in 1801. The following year he married Mary Tayloe Lloyd, who also came from a prominent Maryland family. The couple eventually had eleven children.

In 1803, Key and his family moved to Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. He was an active member of St. John's Episcopal Church and composed a popular hymn, "Lord, with Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee." His faith led him to maintain a pacifist stance (a...