British Burn Washington

August 24, 1814

After scattering American militia at Bladensburg, Admiral Cockburn's redcoats marched unopposed into the new capital and set fire to the Capitol, the President's House, and the Treasury. Dolley Madison rescued a Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington. A thunderstorm saved the rest. The humiliation galvanized American nationalism and prompted Francis Scott Key, watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry days later, to compose the anthem that became the Star-Spangled Banner.