Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814

The British invasion of Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1814 was a defining moment in the coming-of-age of the United States. The British torched the Capitol, the White House, and many other public buildings, setting off an inferno that illuminated the countryside for miles and forced President James Madison to gallop out of town while his wife, Dolly, stayed behind to rescue a life-size portrait of George Washington from the flames. Anthony Pitch tells the dramatic story with all the immediacy of an eyewitness account. His gripping narrative is filled with details of the attack, including the exact location of scorch marks still to be found on White House stones. But Pitch doesn"t confine his story to Washington. He also describes the brave, resourceful defense of nearby Fort McHenry, circumstances that led Francis Scott Key, a detainee on a British warship in the Baltimore harbor during the fort"s bombardment, to write a poem that became the national anthem.