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when the “rocket’s red glare” over Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the “Star Spangled Banner.” In 1844, English inventor William Hale, as well as relics dug up on battlefields, confirm that Hale’s rockets were used at several major battles, such as Seven Pines and Gaines Mill. By 1864, the increased use of rifled field artillery cannon had rendered the more inaccurate rockets mostly obsolete, until the technology was improved for 20th century wars.
