The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, during the War of 1812. On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross burned down buildings including the White House (known as the Presidential Mansion), and the Capitol, as well as other facilities of the U.S. government.[3] President James Madison, members of his government, and the military fled the city in the wake of the British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg. The attack was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada. The Burning of Washington marks the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the United States capital.
President James Madison, military officials, and his government fled the city in the wake of the British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg. They eventually found refuge for the night in Brookeville, a small town in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is known today as the "United States Capital for a Day". President Madison spent the night in the house of Caleb Bentley, a Quaker who lived and worked in Brookeville. Bentley's house, known today as the Madison House, still stands in Brookeville.
Less than a day after the attack began, a sudden, very heavy thunderstorm—possibly a hurricane—put out the fires. It also spun off a tornado that passed through the center of the capital, setting down on Constitution Avenue and lifting two cannons before dropping them several yards away, killing British troops and American civilians alike. Following the storm, the British returned to their ships, many of which were badly damaged. The occupation of Washington lasted only about 26 hours. After the "Storm that saved Washington", as it soon came to be called, the Americans returned to the city.[4]
U.S. Capitol
[The United States Capitol after the burning of Washington, D.C. in the War of 1812. Watercolor and ink depiction from 1814, restored.]
The Capitol was, according to some contemporary travelers, the only building in Washington "worthy to be noticed."[13] Thus, it was a prime target for the British invaders, both for its aesthetic and symbolic value. Upon arrival into the city via Maryland Avenue, the British targeted the Capitol (first the southern wing, containing the House of Representatives, then the northern wing, containing the Senate).[14] Prior to setting it aflame, the British looted the building (which at that time housed Congress, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court). Items looted by British General Sir George Cockburn included "An account of the receipts and expenditures of the United States for the year 1810."[15]
The British intended to burn the building to the ground. They set fire to the southern wing first. The flames grew so quickly that the British were prevented from collecting enough wood to burn the stone walls completely. However, the Library of Congress's contents in the northern wing contributed to the flames on that side.[16] Among the destruction was the 3,000-volume collection of the Library of Congress [17] and the intricate decorations of the neoclassical columns, pediments, and sculptures[18] originally designed by William Thornton in 1793 and Benjamin Latrobe in 1803.[19] The wooden ceilings and floors burned, and the glass skylights melted because of the intense heat.[20] But, the building was not a complete loss. The House rotunda, the east lobby, the staircases, and Latrobe's famous Corn-Cob Columns in the Senate entrance hall all survived.[21] The Superintendent of the Public Buildings of the City of Washington, Thomas Munroe, concluded that the loss to the Capitol amounted to $787,163.28, with $457,388.36 for the North wing and main building, and $329,774.92 for the South wing.[22]
After burning the Capitol, the British turned northwest up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. After US government officials and President Madison fled the city, the First Lady Dolley Madison received a letter from her husband, urging her to be prepared to leave Washington at a moment's notice.[23] Dolley organized the slaves and staff to save valuables from the British.[24] James Madison's personal slave, the fifteen-year-old boy Paul Jennings, was an eyewitness.[25] After later buying his freedom from the widow Dolley Madison, Jennings published his memoir in 1865, considered the first from the White House:
It has often been stated in print, that when Mrs. Madison escaped from the White House, she cut out from the frame the large portrait of Washington (now in one of the parlors there), and carried it off. She had no time for doing it. It would have required a ladder to get it down. All she carried off was the silver in her reticule, as the British were thought to be but a few squares off, and were expected any moment.[26] Jennings said the people who saved the painting and removed the objects actually were: John Susé (Jean Pierre Sioussat, the French door-keeper, and still living at the time of Jennings's memoir, and Magraw [McGraw], the President's gardener, took it down and sent it off on a wagon, with some large silver urns and such other valuables as could be hastily got hold of. When the British did arrive, they ate up the very dinner, and drank the wines, &c., that I had prepared for the President's party.[26][27][28] The soldiers burned the president's house, and fuel was added to the fires that night to ensure they would continue burning into the next day. In 2009, President Barack Obama held a ceremony at the White House to honor Jennings as a representative of his contributions to saving the Gilbert Stuart painting and other valuables. (The painting that was saved was a copy Stuart made of the painting, not the original,[29] although it is the same one on display in the East Room.) "A dozen descendants of Jennings came to Washington, to visit the White House. They looked at the painting their relative helped save."[30] In an interview with National Public Radio, Jennings' great-great-grandson Hugh Alexander said, "We were able to take a family portrait in front of the painting, which was for me one of the high points."[25] He confirmed that Jennings later purchased his freedom from the widowed Dolley Madison.[25]
Other Washington properties[edit]
The day after the destruction of the White House, Rear Admiral Cockburn entered the building of the D.C. newspaper, the National Intelligencer, intending to burn it down. However, several women persuaded him not to because they were afraid the fire would spread to their neighboring houses. Cockburn wanted to destroy the newspaper because its reporters had written so negatively about him, branding him "The Ruffian". Instead, he ordered his troops to tear the building down brick by brick, and ordered all the "C" type destroyed "so that the rascals can have no further means of abusing my name".
The British sought out the United States Treasury in hopes of finding money or items of worth, but they found only old records.[17] They burned the United States Treasury and other public buildings. The United States Department of War building was also burned. However, the War and State Department files had been removed, so the books and records had been saved; the only records of the War Department lost were recommendations of appointments for the Army and letters received from seven years earlier.[32] The First U.S. Patent Office Building was saved by the efforts of William Thornton, the former Architect of the Capitol and then the Superintendent of Patents, who gained British cooperation to preserve it.[33][A] "When the smoke cleared from the dreadful attack, the Patent Office was the only Government building ... left untouched" in Washington.[34] The Americans had already burned much of the historic Washington Navy Yard, founded by Thomas Jefferson, to prevent capture of stores and ammunition,[35] as well as the 44-gun frigate USS Columbia and the 22 gun USS Argus both new vessels nearing completion.[36] The Navy Yard's Latrobe Gate, Quarters A, and Quarters B were the only buildings to escape destruction.[37][38] Also spared were the Marine Barracks and Commandant's House, although several private properties were damaged or destroyed.[39]In the afternoon of August 25, General Ross sent two hundred men to secure a fort on Greenleaf's Point. The fort, later known as Fort McNair, had already been destroyed by the Americans, but 150 barrels of gunpowder remained. While the British were trying to destroy it by dropping the barrels into a well, the powder ignited. As many as thirty men were killed in the explosion, and many others were maimed.[40]
