[1] To commemorate the occasion, the United States Congress allocated US$75,000 for the erection of a monument at Baltimore's Fort McHenry in honor of the national anthem and the battle that took place there.

[2][3] On May 28, 1916,[2] the United States Commission of Fine Arts held a competition for design proposals for this monument, with 34 sculptors entering.

[2][1] Niehaus was at the time working in Grantwood, New Jersey,[1] but he had previously trained in Rome and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and had established a reputation in the United States as a skilled and highly sought-out sculptor.

[1] Making reference to the odd choice in 2021, historian John R. Vile stated that the statue was perhaps "[t]he oddest monument to Key".

[4] Despite the design selection, the entry of the United States into World War I delayed construction for several years,[3] with work on the monument finally beginning on November 4, 1920.

[1] This medallion is supported on either side by a soldier and a sailor in low relief, while the rest of the base depicts the Muses celebrating the U.S. Army and the U.S.

[1] Along the base, an inscription reads: "To Francis Scott Key - Author of the Star Spangled Banner and to the soldiers and sailors who took part in the Battle of North Point and the defense of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.