by Peter Snow
‘irretrievable conflagration’: ibid.
‘inextinguishable fire’: ibid.
‘palsied my faculties…’: Booth, in NW, p. 213
‘ignorant of architecture’: Latrobe letter to Mazzei, 29/5/1806, quoted in Pitch, p. 105
‘spread for flight’: Latrobe letter to the Editor of the National Intelligencer, 30/11/1807
‘peculiar to our country’: ibid.
‘monarchical splendor’: Scott, p. 300
‘the young nation’: ibid., p. 301
‘carried unanimously’: Ingersoll, vol. 2, p. 185; Cutts, p. 104
‘Governor of Bermuda’: Pack, pp. 17–18
‘or more sublime’: Gleig, F and B, pp. 93–4
‘have been spared’: ibid., p. 93
‘destroying the city…’: Smith, Autobiography, p. 200
‘with a dismal gloom’: Ewell, p. 65
‘perfect gentlemen’: ibid., p. 66
‘sentinel to guard it’: ibid.
‘house immediately’: ibid., p. 67
‘domestic relations’: ibid.
‘flame of former friendship’: ibid., p. 68
‘property we knew not’: Hunter, ‘Diary’, p. 81
‘such a horrid scene’: ibid., p. 81
be burned down: ibid.
‘the city and ourselves’: ibid., p. 82
‘ever committed’: ibid.
‘was that night’: ibid
‘I’ll put him to death’: William Gardner letter to Federal Republican, 16/9/1814
‘ought to manifest’: Seale, pp. 326–7
‘faithfully and successfully’: Seaton, p. 118
lashed or shot: William Gardner letter to Federal Republican, 16/9/1814
‘property will be respected’: ibid.
‘taken good care of’: ibid.
‘spent in fright’: Ingersoll, vol. 2, p. 186
who’d come back later: ibid.
Chapter 11: 24 August, night – The dreadful majesty of the flames
‘of the United States’: Brooke, Diary
‘pleased to select…’: McLane, p. 21
‘mortifying to dwell on’: ibid.
wrote James Scott: Scott, p. 303
‘immediate use…’: Gleig, F and B, p. 95
‘some very good wine also’: Smith, Autobiography, p. 200
‘down with Madison’: Martha Peter to Timothy Pickering, 28/8/1814, Pickering Papers, microfilm edition, reel 15, Massachusetts Historical Society
‘having taken to his heels…’: Ross letter home quoted in Smyth, vol. 1, p. 325
‘I must give to the flames’: MBS, p. 111, letter of 30/8/1814
remind him of ‘her seat’: ibid., pp. 112–3, refers to Cockburn ‘adding pleasantries too vulgar for me to repeat’. She was describing the scene at third hand. She says she heard the news from Anna Maria Thornton, who presumably had been briefed by the unfortunate Mr Weightman afterwards
‘draught in the banqueting room’: Scott, p. 304
‘exhibit her in London’: P. Morris to A. Morris, 14/9/1814, Dumbarton House collection, Washington DC, and Gerry, p. 180
among the family treasures: Morning Post, 5/10/1814; Aberdeen Journal, 9/10/1861, p. 8
‘inexhaustible source’: Chesterton, vol. 1, p. 132
wrap up in the tablecloth: Morning Post, 5/10/1814
‘was there in person’: the French Ambassador Louis Serrurier to French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, 27/8/1814, in Tucker, p. 565. The French Bourbon monarchy in the person of Louis XVIII had been restored to the throne after Napoleon’s abdication in the spring of 1814
wrote Harry Smith: Smith, Autobiography, p. 200
‘wrapt in flames and smoke’: Margaret Bayard Smith, letter of 30/8/1814, p. 111
to his government: ibid.
‘wrapt in one entire flame’: William Gardner letter to Federal Republican, 16/9/1814
‘President’s house’: Smith, Autobiography, p. 200
‘buildings demolished’: Furlong diary, in Buchan, p. 171
‘indiscriminate plunder’: Barrett, ‘Naval Recollections’, p. 459
‘with a barbarian character’: Chesterton, vol. 1, p. 129
has remained ever since: Seale, p. 207
before fleeing the city: McElroy, Papers and recollections, Georgetown University Library, Special Collections Research Center
‘possible suffocation’: Scott, p. 305
‘an Irish renegade’: ibid., p. 306
he said gleefully: Ingersoll, vol. 2, p. 189
‘a traitorous proprietor’: Scott, p. 308
‘same compliment’: ibid., p. 212
‘England for a curiosity’: J. W. Taylor to Mrs Taylor, 8/10/1814, in Dangerfield, p. 5
‘publicly offered’: Scott, p. 308
‘better than expected’: Niles’ Weekly Register, 27/8/1814
‘profited of the general distress’: National Intelligencer, 13/9/1814
‘sailors and marines’: MBS, p. 112
‘were paid for’: ibid.
‘than Jemmy did!’: ibid.
‘the prejudices that existed’: ibid., p. 113
Chapter 12: 25 August – Damn you! You shan’t stay in my house
‘in the dark horizon’: Rush to Williams, 10/7/1855, in Williams, History, p. 274
‘smouldering city’: Ingersoll, vol. 2, p. 207
as them, they said: ibid., p. 208
‘so get out!’: Jennings, p. 11
‘their misfortune’: Madison, Writings, p. 298n
‘gave him immediate relief’: Ewell, p. 68. There is some disagreement among diarists and historians about the exact sequence of events overnight on 24 August and on the following day. There is no doubt about what happened. The precise timetable is disputed: I have given my best estimate of it
‘shall not pass unnoticed’: Ewell, p. 69
‘certainly have been saved’: ibid., p. 70
‘consanguinity and interest’: Ingersoll, vol. 2, p. 190
‘got to your city’: Ewell, p. 70
‘time he was in Washington’: ibid., p. 71
‘Cockburn! Impossible!’: ibid., p. 72
‘altogether private property’: ibid., p. 74
‘smouldering rubble’: Scott, pp. 311–12
lay there for hours: Ingersoll, vol. 2, p. 188
him a doctor: Scott, pp. 320–1
‘all the models’: Dr Thornton letter to National Intelligencer, 7/9/1814
‘invaders of the country’: ibid.
‘enlightened nations’: Dr Thornton letter to National Intelligencer, 30/8/1814
‘injure private property’: AMT, pp. 175–6
‘of very intelligent mind’: William Gardner letter to Federal Republican, 16/9/1814
‘same day and shot’: ibid.
identify her attacker: Ewell, p. 75
with the enemy: APS, p. 590
‘of their city…’: Ewell, pp. 72–3
‘allowed a fair price’: ibid., p. 73
‘horribly mangled’: ibid., p. 78; Scott, p. 312; Ingersoll, vol. 2, p. 189. Scott says that twelve died and more than thirty were wounded
‘thrown up by the explosion’: Williams, History, p. 269
‘which I shall never forget’: Ewell, p. 78
‘the ground beneath’: Moore, pp. 102–3
‘sun had long set’: Gleig, F and B, p. 99
‘their beam ends’: Smith, Autobiography, p. 203
‘vast sheet of foam’: Barrett, ‘Naval Recollections’, p. 460
‘to justify the attempt’: Evans, ‘Memorandum’, pp. 13–14
‘great loss or difficulty’: Cockburn journal, COC 11 MS pp. 136–7, NMM
‘they do we are gone’: David Winchester to Gen. James Winchester, 25/8/1814, box 2, folder 7, James Winchester Papers, Tennessee Historical Society, Nashville
‘ventured to propose’: Evans, ‘Memorandum’, p. 14
‘suffered to pass unheeded’: Scott, p. 327
unde
r another commander: Smith, Autobiography, p. 201
Chapter 13: 26–27 August – Into the Potomac
‘take the same resolution’: Madison to wife, 27/8/1814, in Madison, Writings, p. 300
‘taken place, not dispirited’: MBS, p. 107
‘you ever beheld’: Rush to Charles Ingersoll, 8/9/1815, in Howard, p. 211
‘smouldering ruins…’: MBS, p. 209
‘blackened wall remained’: ibid.
‘nothing but ashes’: ibid., pp. 209–10
‘had most dread of’: ibid., pp. 11–19
‘no pilots could be procured’: Elers Napier, Life and Correspondence, vol. 1, p. 76
‘evacuating the town’: ibid., p. 78
‘banks of the river’: ibid.
‘only apprehension’: ibid.
‘by main strength’: Gordon to Cochrane, 9/9/1814, in NW, p. 238
‘defence of the place’: Dyson to Armstrong, 29/8/1814, in ASP, p. 591
Chapter 14: 28–29 August – A tempest of dissatisfaction
‘of all the shipping’: terms delivered 29/8/1814, in ASP, p. 591
‘cruel and unfounded’: R. I. Taylor to Congress, 20/11/1814, in ASP, p. 593
‘been our misfortune’: letter to Congress, in ASP, pp. 593–4
‘their person or houses’: Charles to Nancy Simms, 3/9/1814, in NW, p. 246
‘and he went off’: ibid., p. 247
‘the town in a blaze’: Elers Napier, Life and Correspondence, vol. 1, p. 83
‘plunder and destroy’: AMT, p. 177
‘spirit animate our people…’: MBS, p. 115
‘torn to pieces’: ibid.
‘as we expected…’: ibid., pp. 114–15
‘your present quarters’: Clark, p. 172
‘disgraced administration’: MHM special edition, vol. 1, spring 2012, p. 120
‘completely panic struck’: Federal Republican, 2/9/1814
‘an imbecile administration’: Portsmouth Oracle, 3/9/1814
‘our bleeding country’: Virginia Gazette, in Lord, p. 215
‘its best parts in ashes’: Richard Rush to John Adams, 5/9/1814, in Powell, p. 52
‘with great fever’: Monroe to Winder, 21/9/1814, in Howard, p. 226
Anna Maria Thornton: AMT, p. 177
‘friend or foe’: New York Evening Post, 29/8/1814. See http://www.newsinhistory.com/content/document/v2:10945d65c96b4140@newsinhistory-1098f8943260b698-1098f894a54a66e8-1098f89568589918/
‘a coward and a fool’: Fearon, p. 286
‘of all classes of people’: Jones to Rodgers, 29/8/1814, in NW, p. 243
height of the crisis: Monroe memorandum, in Monroe, Writings, p. 374: ‘He [meaning Monroe] forbade the measure.’ But note that in the original text of this memo the words are ‘The President forbade the measure.’ See Howard, p. 333 n. 13
‘that air of unyielding determination…’: Margaret Bayard Smith, What is Gentility?, Washington, DC, Pishey Thompson, 1828, p. 154 (a novel about Madison)
‘speak without tears’: MBS, p. 110
‘bottomless pit’: AMT, p. 178
to such terms: ibid.
the President’s call to arms: ibid., p. 177
‘wishes of the government’: Dr Thornton letter to National Intelligencer, 7/9/1814
‘were disposed to hang him’: Stagg, p. 420, quoting William Williams to James Barbour, 28/8/1814
‘member of the cabinet’: McKenney, p. 46
‘anything to do with them’: Madison, Writings, p. 301
giving no more orders: McKenney, p. 47. Madison’s words, according to McKenney, were: ‘Say to General Smith, the contingency – namely, that of any future orders being given by General Armstrong – shall not happen’
‘the enemy at Alexandria’: Madison memorandum, 29/8/1814, in Madison, Writings, pp. 300ff
‘and in proper time’: ibid., p. 302
‘forward by myself’: ibid., p. 303
‘on a visit to his family…’: ibid., p. 304
‘destructive of order…’: Baltimore Patriot, 3/9/1814, reprinted in Niles’ Weekly Register, vol. 7, p. 6
the defeat at Bladensburg: Armstrong, Exposition, p. 11
‘longer connect myself’: Armstrong to Spencer, 3/9/1814, MSS Dept, New York Historical Society
Chapter 15: End of August – Do not attack Baltimore!
‘height of military glory…’: Gleig, F and B, pp. 106–7
‘air was horrible’: ibid., p. 103
‘attentively to their prisoners’: ibid., p. 104
‘in forgetfulness’: Scott, p. 325
demanded a drink: Delaplaine, p. 148
his two house guests: Evans, ‘Memorandum’, p. 14
‘gleamed a meteor of war…’: Delaplaine, p. 41
the south of France: Skinner letter to Baltimore Patriot, 23/5/1840
‘wounded have been treated’: Ross to Mason, 7/9/1814, in Delaplaine, p. 157
proper military conduct: Chesterton, vol. 1, pp. 135ff
‘war-girt coast’: ibid., p. 135
‘Americans were abroad’: ibid., p. 136
‘free with his stock’: ibid.
the terrified wife: ibid., pp. 137–8
‘national enmities’: ibid., p. 139
allowed ashore: Codrington orders of 25/8 and 3/9/1814, in NW, pp. 230–1
‘the parties could bear’: Codrington order of 25/8/1814, in NW, p. 230
‘words to express’: Gordon to Cochrane, 9/9/1814, in NW, p. 238
‘capture of Washington’: Codrington diary of 10/9/1814, in Codrington, Memoir, abridged edn, p. 233
‘the Captains and crews…’: Roosevelt, vol. 2, p. 47
‘and good fortune’: Armstrong, Notices, vol. 2, p. 133
‘city of Washington’: Ross to Bathurst, 30/8/1814, in NW, p. 323
‘numerous population…’: Cochrane to Croker, 2/9/1814, in NW, p. 226
‘the capital unprotected’: Ross to Maria Suter, 2/9/1814, PRONI 1A/3/9, and to wife, 1/9/1814, PRONI 1A/3/8
‘never again to separate’: Ross to wife, 1/9/1814, PRONI 1A/3/8
‘soldier,’ wrote Smith: Smith, Autobiography, pp. 104 and 107
‘simple statement of facts’: ibid., p. 206
achieved at Washington: ibid.
‘previous discomfiture’: ibid., pp. 206–7
‘what I have stated’: ibid., p. 207
Chapter 16: End of August – Is my wife alive and well?
‘Is she well?’: Smith, Autobiography, p. 211
‘scenes of our lives’: ibid., p. 212
when she was grieving: ibid., p. 213
‘nor will I now’: ibid.
news he had brought: ibid., p. 215
‘officer’s promotion’: ibid.
‘He is my brother’: ibid., p. 216
‘put to flight’: The Times, 28/9/1814
‘transatlantic imitator’: Morning Post, 28/9/1814
‘capital of America’: Williams, History, p. 255
‘glorious on the victors’: Liverpool Mercury, 28/10/1814
‘the continent of Europe’: The Annual Register 1814, vol. 56, pp. 184–5
against the burning of Washington: The Times, 14/10/1814, and Longford, p. 379
what had we gained?: Whitbread, 8/11/1814, Hansard, House of Commons, vol. 29, cols 46–7
‘them on this unnatural war…’: Liverpool to Cochrane, 28/9/1814, Cochrane Papers 2574
‘experienced at Washington…’: Bathurst to Ross, 29/9/1814, NA WO6/2 Downing Street
‘from the United States’: Bathurst to Ross, 28/9/1814, NA WO6/2, read in conjunction with Bathurst to Ross, 6/9/1814 WO6/2
‘peculiar to Spain’: Smith, Autobiography, pp. 217–19
‘under her husband’: ibid., p. 217
‘was awfully overcome’: ibid., p. 223
by the end of 1814: Arthur, p. 241, table 16
of its pre-war level: ibid., p. 242, table 17
‘the American people’: Greville, Hans
ard, House of Lords, 8/11/1814, col. 15
Chapter 17: 1–11 September – The star-shaped fort and its banner
‘my near relatives’: Cochrane to Lord Melville, 3/9/1814, in NW, p. 269
without reinforcement: Cochrane’s first letter after the sack of Washington, written to Lord Bathurst on 28/8/1814 (NA WO1/141), ruled out any immediate attack on Baltimore. ‘Our present force is not adequate to the attempt without inviting more risk than it would be prudent to do’
‘attended all our efforts’: Cochrane to Melville, in NW, p. 270
‘the attack of that place’: Evans, ‘Memorandum’, p. 19
‘insured by postponement’: Codrington letter, 10/9/1814, in Codrington, Memoir, abridged edn, p. 234
‘surrounding country’: Scott, pp. 331–2
‘bull by the horns’: ibid., p. 332
‘bread out of my mouth’: ibid., p. 326
‘likelihood die soon…’: Wallace, pp. 145–6
wrote one Baltimorean: Capt. James Piper, in ‘The Defense of Baltimore’, p. 104
‘we are gone’: David Winchester to his brother James Winchester, 25/8/1814, Winchester Papers, box 2, folder 2
‘killed in one day!’: see the website of the American Revolution Round Table, http://samson.kean.edu/∼leew/arrt/heroes/samsmith.html
‘a few strokes of the axe’: Smith to Armstrong, 18/3/1813, in Sheads, ‘Two Sidelights’, p. 253
‘the defence of such a post?’: Smith to Armstrong, 21/3/1814, in ibid.
‘the man that skulks…’: Robert Henderson in the American and Commercial Daily Advertiser, 20/7/1814, in Sheads, Guardian, p. 25
‘call,’ replied Smith: Samuel Smith Papers, MSS 18974, reel 5, cont. 7–8, LC, quoted on the Baltimore militia website http://maryland1812.wordpress.com/category/maryland-militia/
‘been selected’: Winder to Smith, 26/8/1814, in Robinson, ‘Controversy over the Command at Baltimore in the War of 1812’, p. 179
was assuming command: Smith to Winder, 26/8/1814, in ibid., p. 179
to be Sam Smith: Monroe to Winder, 11/9/1814, in ibid., p. 193
‘produce disunion’: minutes of the Committee of Vigilance and Safety, in Hoyt, pp. 199–224
‘tents or camp kettles’: Smith to Monroe, 3/9/1814, Smith Papers
‘number to this post’: Smith to governing general in Philadelphia, 5/9/1814, Smith Papers
‘different from what you are…’: Minerva Rodgers to John Rodgers, 25/8/1814, Rodgers-Macomb Papers, LC
‘in the common cause’: George Douglas to Henry Wheaton, in Sheads, Guardian, pp. 60–1