Francis Scott Key (1779 - 1843)
Oh! thus be it ever,when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace,may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation,
Then conquer we must,when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto,"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
(last stanza)
Writer of American National Anthem