 So, Francis Scott Key, Dr. Beans, and Skinner were taken back to their American ship. Sometimes you hear that they were held prisoner during the Battle of Baltimore. That was not quite true. They couldn't leave, but it wasn't like they were below decks, you know, on bread and water. They were on the deck and they had a bird's eye view of what became the largest sustained bombing in military history to that time. The Brits had 19 ships out there in Baltimore Harbor.