I thought it would be appropriate to do a post on an event that was mentioned a lot yesterday as the news covered the storming of the Capitol. It was correctly pointed out that this was not the first time that people of ill-intent had broken into the building. That first incident was during the War of 1812. It was not an attempt to circumvent democracy, it was an act of vengeance.
The War of 1812 had been going on for two years when the abdication of Napoleon allowed the British to focus on the pesky ex-colonists. Their forces in the Chesapeake Bay area were reinforced by Napoleonic veterans. Admiral George Cockburn pushed for a raid on Washington. The blowhard admiral insisted the capital was ripe for the picking and paddling the American behind would be very satisfying. Plus it would be sweet revenge for the American burning of York in Canada. Gen. Richard Ross was on board for the campaign. Pres. Madison was aware of the threat and had created a new military district with a proposed +10,000 man army. But Secretary of War John Armstrong did not take the threat seriously. Little was done to prepare to defend the city even though the mayor warned that the capital was defenseless and even after an anonymous letter warned Monroe of the British plan. On August 19, 1814 Ross landed at Benedict, Maryland with 4,500 men. Two days later, Secretary of State James Monroe went out to scout the British camp, but he forgot to bring a spyglass so he could not determine the strength of the British. The next day, the British marched on Washington. A fleet of gunboats commanded by Admiral Joshua Barney was cornered by Cockburn. Barney destroyed his own ships and he and his men joined the army. On August 24, with Pres. Madison present with two pistols weighing heavily on his frail frame, an attempt to block the British occurred at Bladensburg, 6 miles from Washington. Gen. William Winder had 8,000 troops, but most were unreliable militia and he was a poor general. The battle opened with the British rushing a bridge (that the Americans had failed to burn) and the Americans running, prodded by Congreve rockets. It was a fiasco that became known as the “Bladensburg races”. The only fight was put up by artillery manned by Barney’s deshipped sailors (many of whom were black). Madison quickly sent off a message to his wife Dolley. It basically said “get out of town”. She did, famously bringing a portrait of George Washington with her and leaving a 40 person banquet on the table. The British arrived soon after. Furniture was piled up in the House and Senate and set afire. The Library of Congress was located in the Capitol building back then and the 3,000 volume collection was destroyed. The President’s House was also targeted for arson. Thankfully a severe thunderstorm (hurricane?) the next day put out the fires. The green-painted President’s Mansion was left scorched. It was repainted white and nicknamed the White House. The British went on to Baltimore, where the embarrassment of August 24 was partially overshadowed by the “Defense of Fort McHenry”, which is what Francis Scott Key was going to call his song.
https://www.history.com/news/the-british-burn-washington-d-c-200-years-ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bladensburg
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