(USCG Photo)

The United States Coast Guard places the historic Francis Scott Key buoy on the Patapsco River for the 40th year.

This specially designed Star-Spangled painted buoy marks the approximate location where Francis Scott Key wrote the country’s national anthem during the bombardment on Fort McHenry in 1814.

The buoy sits between the Francis Scott Key Bridge and Fort McHenry and has no navigational purpose.

The USCG sets the buoy every summer and removes it just before the winter.