Burning of Washington — British naval attack on the United States during the War of 1812
The only foreign capture of a U.S. capital since the Revolutionary War, during which British forces burned the White House and Capitol.
Key Facts
- Date of attack
- August 24, 1814
- British occupation duration
- Approximately 26 hours
- Buildings burned
- White House, Capitol, Washington Navy Yard
- Preceding battle
- Battle of Bladensburg
- Presidential refuge
- Brookeville, Montgomery County, Maryland
- Fire extinguished by
- Heavy thunderstorm, possibly a hurricane and tornado
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The attack was partly retaliatory for American raids on British-held Upper Canada, where U.S. forces had burned and looted York in 1813 and subsequently burned much of Port Dover. It also formed part of Admiral John Warren's broader Chesapeake campaign aimed at pressuring the United States during the War of 1812.
On August 24, 1814, following the defeat of American forces at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British army under Major-General Robert Ross marched into Washington, D.C. That evening, British soldiers and sailors set fire to multiple public buildings, including the Presidential Mansion, the United States Capitol, and the Washington Navy Yard, in a coordinated amphibious operation led by Rear Admiral George Cockburn.
The British occupation lasted roughly 26 hours before a severe thunderstorm extinguished the fires. President James Madison and his administration had already fled to Brookeville, Maryland. The attack shocked the young American republic but galvanized public resolve, and the burned buildings were subsequently rebuilt, with reconstruction of the White House completed in 1817.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
President James Madison.
Side B
1 belligerent
Rear Admiral George Cockburn, Major-General Robert Ross, Admiral John Warren.