The Burning of Washington, D.C. 1814

1. Teaching American History The Burning of Washington, D.C.1814 Inez Cutler

2. TROUBLE ON THE HOME FRONT The United States government was concentrating on the defenses hundreds of miles away on the northern border. The United States fails to take sufficient precautions in protecting matters closer to home. In the late summer of 1814 a British fleet was sent into Chesapeake Bay to make an attack against Washington and Baltimore.

3. Surprise the British have LANDED!! • In Quebec city, Governor General George Prevost was the leading commander of the British troops. • Threaten by the Americans, he sent desperate appeals to London for help. • Ten Thousand British troops were sent to fight in North America under the command of General Prevost.

4. The US Forces • U.S. General William Winder was the supreme commander in North America. • The American troops attempted to stop the British forces unsuccessfully who were being led by General Robert Ross. • Because of poor coordination between General Winder and the United States Secretary of War, John Armstrong, insufficient actions were taken to protect Washington from the British.

5. In the evening hours of August 24, 1814, during the third year of the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the unfinished Capitol Building in Washington. • The dome had not been erected.

6. The burning of Washington illustrated in a broadside cartoon of 1814. Library of Congress

7. THE BRITISH PAYBACK ! • All the public buildings in the developing city were torched except the Patent Office. • Buildings were put to the torch in retaliation for the destruction by American troops the year before in York, capital of upper Canada.

8. THE BURNING CONTINUES…. • The President ‘s house and offices of the Treasury and State Departments were set fire.

9. AN AMERICAN OBSERVER’S “QUOTE” • After the main British force moved into a Washington suburb and; After a brief battle with the militia unit, the unit broke and ran. “THEY RAN LIKE SHEEP BEING CHASED BY DOGS.”

10. DOLLY MADISON NOTE TO HER SISTER • “Will you believe it my sister, we have a battle or skirmish near the city. I am still within the sounds of the cannons, Mr. Madison comes not. MAY GOD PROTECT US. Two messengers come in and asked me to leave the capitol, I must stay here and wait for my husband..”

11. British official Account of the Capture of Washington, D.C. Click this link to view and read the official document http://images.virtualology.com/images/1381.jpg

12. PORTRAIT OFGeorge Washington • As Dolly left the White House, she left all of their personal possessions, but not without taking two important things: • Cabinet Papers and a portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart.

13. “The Uninvited Dinner Guest” • As the British Troops entered the White House, they were “greeted” with a dinner that had been set for at least a party of forty people. • As they ate and drank until they were merry, they preceded to burning down and destroying the White House.

14. As they watched… • After much destruction and burning, President Madison and his wife, Dolly, fled to the countryside leaving their lavish home to the British to devour. • The British gutted what they called home as the Madison’s watched helplessly while the city of Washington continued to burn.

15. VOCABULARY

16. REFERENCES • http://www.nationalcenter.org/BritishBurnWashington1814.html • http://members.tripod.com/~war1812/batwash.html • http://wwwmultied.com/documents/BurningWash.html • http://www.gabby.com/washdc • http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/warof1812/summary.html • http://gatewayno.com/history/War1812.html