About twenty years before Francis Scott Key put pen to paper at Fort McHenry, the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise" was written – and the stories behind them are remarkable similar. Both anthems were written by young revolutionaries, in the midst of a fierce war. The Star-Spangled Banner was written in 1814 as the Americans fought against their former British rulers, and Claude de Lisle wrote "La Marseillaise" in 1792, to rally the troops in their war against the Prussian and Austrian invaders, who threatened to squash the French revolution.

Before the "Star Spangled Banner" the United States had three other "rallying songs": "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail, Colombia!". These songs were once debated to be National Anthems. Neither "Yankee Doodle", "Hail, Colombia!", or "La Marseillaise" were never official national anthems, although they were popular.
The music for "Hail Columbia" was composed by Philip Phile (Pfeil), believed to be one of a number of German musicians who immigrated to the United States in its earliest years of independence. Its words were composed nine years later by Joseph Hopkinson, a Philadelphia Judge.
Phile was a violinist who, by 1779, worked in a New York theater orchestra. His tune "Washington 's March," or "President 's March," was first played ceremonially in Trenton, New Jersy to honor George Washington. In April 1789, as president-elect of the new United States, Washington journeyed from Mount Vernon, Virginia, to New York city for his, and