Attack on the White House
by R
Attack on the White House
by Roy and Lesley Adkins
Shock and horror were felt in Washington today – the White House is a smouldering ruin after being ransacked and deliberately set on fire by invading forces.
No, not a modern terrorist attack, but the scene nearly two centuries ago. During the war with Napoleon, the Royal Navy was constantly short of seamen and so British crewmen were frequently taken off American merchant ships. Inevitably, Americans were taken in error, especially as the Royal Navy did not trust their citizenship papers, because these could easily be obtained in the thriving black market. The United States was also irritated by Britain's insistence that merchant ships trading with enemy countries, such as France, should call at a British port first and pay duties on the cargo. These were the main reasons why the USA declared war on Britain in June 1812.
The war at sea showed the Royal Navy that the Americans were skilful seamen and determined fighters, and early on there were two notable losses of frigates – in August 1812 HMS Guerriere surrendered to the USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides', and in October HMS Macedonian surrendered to the USS United States. In early 1814, though, Napoleon abdicated and so more ships and soldiers were transferred to the war across the Atlantic. In August of that year a sizeable army and naval expedition sailed into Chesapeake Bay, with the aim of capturing a gunboat flotilla, but these vessels were burned by the Americans. The British forces then marched through thick forests and tobacco plantations until they reached Bladensburg, where the ensuing battle became known as the Bladensburg Races, because of the speed at which the Americans fled.
President James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836)
The next target was Washington, and the unprepared citizens, including President Madison, began to flee. Lieutenant Gleig of the 85th regiment prophetically remarked that Washington was "completely in its infancy, few of the streets being finished, and many containing not more than three or four houses at wide intervals from each other. But from its situation, it derives every possible advantage, and if it continues to be the capital of the United States for another century, it will become, I doubt not, one of the most flourishing cities in the world.'
It was dark when they reached the city, and Gleig said they entered with a flag of truce, only to be fired upon by snipers, which enraged the troops:
"Having first put to the sword all who were found in the house from which the shots were fired, and reduced it to ashes, they proceeded, without a moment's delay, to burn and destroy everything in the most distant degree connected with Government. The powder magazines were of course set on fire, and exploded with a tremendous crash, throwing down many houses in their vicinity, partly by pieces of the walls striking them, and partly by the concussion of the air; whilst quantities of shot, shell, and hand-grenades were thrown into the river.'
Lieutenant James Scott was with Vice-Admiral George Cockburn as his aide-de-camp when they entered Washington, and by then parts of the city were already alight, as he described:
"The position of the Capitol was elevated; the fiery beacon must have shed a sadly brilliant light upon the American habitations for miles around. The flames floated away in masses, which alighted upon the houses to leeward, set them in a blaze likewise. The Americans had been no less active in the work of destruction: they set fire to the Navy-yard; the Essex [actually the Columbia], a large frigate of sixty guns, measuring sixteen hundred tons, ready for launching; the Argus, a sloop of war of six hundred tons, all ready for sea. The wooden bridge across the Potomac, on the Virginia side, over which the greater part of the enemy's troops had retreated, was likewise destroyed; in fact, they anticipated our wishes, and by some of their acts saved us time, and an infinity of trouble. After the destruction of the Capitol, a party was ordered to take possession of the fort at Greenleaf Point.'
Right: The White House after the fire
Vice-Admiral Sir George Cockburn
From Capitol Hill, they moved towards the house of President Madison that had begun to be built by George Washington and is known today as the White House. Although occupied, the building was still unfinished. In the midst of the hardships of war, Scott came across an unexpected sight:
"We found the cloth laid for the expected victorious generals, and all the appliances and means to form a feast worthy the resolute champions of republican freedom. A large store of super-excellent Madeira and other costly wines stood cooling in ice in one corner of the spacious dining-room. Fagged nearly to death, dusty, feverish, and thirsty, in my extremity I absolutely blessed them for their erring providence. Never was nectar more grateful to the palates of the gods, than the crystal goblet of Madeira and water I quaffed at Mr. Madison's expense.'
A portrait of the First Lady, Dolley Madison, who had packed up and saved many of the contents of the White House, was still in place and noticed by Scott: "On the walls hung a small portrait of the President's lady … The Treasury was next visited, but the specie [gold and silver] had been safely conveyed away. The building was fired before the discovery of a strong iron door, that resisted all the efforts made to break it open. It was presumed to be the stronghold and deposit of all the valuables. The window was forced in, and the first officer who descended into the apartment, gave information that it contained several weighty boxes.' It was too late to rescue any valuables, and the building burned fiercely. The White House was later rebuilt, and myth attributes its name to the whitewashing of the blackened stonework, though it was in fact occasionally referred to by that name before the fire.
It was often said that the destruction of Washington was in retaliation for the burning the year before of York (now Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada, but whatever the reason, there was worldwide condemnation. Lieutenant Gleig blamed Cockburn: "To destroy the flotilla [of gunboats] was the sole object of the disembarkation; and but for the instigations of Admiral Cockburn, who accompanied the army, the capital of America would probably have escaped its visitation.' Captain Harry Smith of the 95th regiment was also critical:
"Admiral Cockburn would have burnt the whole [of Washington], but General Ross would only consent to the burning of the public buildings. I had no objection to burn arsenals, dockyards, frigates building, stores, barracks, etc., but we were horrified at the order to burn the elegant Houses of Parliament and the President's house. I shall never forget the destructive majesty of the flames as the torches were applied to beds, curtains, etc. Our sailors were artists at the work.'
Almost like divine intervention, Washington was struck by severe weather the following day, 25 August, as Lieutenant Gleig recorded: "A violent storm of rain, accompanied with thunder and lightning, came on. The flashes of lightning seemed to vie in brilliancy, with the flames which burst from the roofs of burning houses, while the thunder drowned the noise of crumbling walls, and was only interrupted by the occasional roar of cannon, and of large depôts of gunpowder, as they one by one exploded.'
Three days later the British left Washington and began an attack Baltimore, which was to be be a complete failure.
Roy and Lesley Adkins are authors of The War for All the Oceans: From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo (Little, Brown, £20) – a no. 1 bestseller in naval and maritime history on Amazon for over two months.
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