by Steve Vogel
Dr. James Ewell watched Ewell, “Unwelcome Visitors,” 11–16, 33–34; Lord, Dawn’s Early Light, 165.
Across town, Louis Sérurier Brant, James Madison, 305; Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, Our Neighbors on Lafayette Square, 14.
A large white sheet Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, 201.
The British marched Arnold, “The Battle of Bladensburg,” 157; CMS, 136; Scott, Recollections, 303.
From the window of his William Gardner, “To the Editor of the Federal Republican,” Sept. 27, Hartford Courant.
The troops paused Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 186–87.
PRESIDENT’S HOUSE, 11 P.M., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24
Moving on to the President’s Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 130.
“So unexpected was our entry” Smyth, History of the XX Regiment, 325.
“Peace with America” King, “Battle of Bladensburg,” 455.
“Nor was Mr. Madison’s health” Pringle, Letters, 2.
“super-excellent” Scott, Recollections, 303; Buchan, History of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 171.
Cockburn also enjoyed Allen C. Clark, “Roger Chew Weightman, A Mayor of the City of Washington,” RCHS, 1919; Hunt-Jones, Dolley and the “Great Little Madison,” 46; Cutts, ed., Memoirs and Letters of Dolly Madison, 112.
“Take something” Smith, Aug. 30, First Forty Years, 111–12; Seale, The President’s House, 135.
Soldiers and sailors roamed Barrett, 85th King’s Light Infantry, 156.
miniature portrait of the first Hunt-Jones, Dolley and the “Great Little Madison,” 47. The portrait was turned over to an American in Europe by a British soldier in 1827.
Madison’s small medicine chest Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Archibald MacLeish, Jan. 24, 1940, LOC Rare Book and Special Collections Division; Betty Monkman, “Reminders of 1814,” White House History, Fall 1998, 34; Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 187.
Scott made his way Scott, Recollections, 304.
After an hour Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 187; Seale, “The White House Before the Fire,” 18; Brant, James Madison, 305.
“I shall never forget” Smith, Autobiography, 200; Smith, Aug. 30, First Forty Years, 111.
Treasury building Ibid.; Scott, Recollections, 305.
Ross and Cockburn gathered Seale, The President’s House, 136.
“Although they were” Buchan, History of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 171.
The main body of British Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 128; Brooke diary, 303.
Key felt “sure they would” Franklin R. Mullaly, “A Forgotten Letter of Francis Scott Key,” MdHM, December 1960, 359–60; “To Arms! To Arms!,” Richmond Enquirer, Aug. 27; Delaplaine, Francis Scott Key, 145.
The Foxall Foundry Louis F. Gorr, “The Foxall-Columbia Foundry: An Early Defense Contractor in Georgetown,” RCHS, 1971; CRG, 275.
The Thorntons and Peter Anna Thornton diary, Aug. 24; Smith, First Forty Years, 111; Eberlein and Hubbard, Historic Houses, 128.
Dr. William Thornton Glenn Brown, “The U.S. Capitol in 1800,” RCHS, 1901; Seale, The President’s House, 110.
“beheld, in deep regret” William Thornton, “To the Public,” NI, Sept. 7.
“almost meridian brightness” Hunter, “The Burning of Washington, D.C.,” 82.
NORTHERN VIRGINIA COUNTRYSIDE, LATE NIGHT, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24
President Madison had a clear Rush to Williams, July 10, 1855, in Williams, History of the Invasion, 274; Jennings, A Colored Man’s Reminiscences, 11.
Madison and his companions Herrick, August 24, 1814, 104.
Dolley Madison and her Ibid., 107; Anne Hollingsworth Wharton, Social Life in the Early Republic, 172; Cutts, ed., Memoirs and Letters of Dolly Madison, 108.
TENLEYTOWN, MIDNIGHT, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24
Retreating past Georgetown Winder narrative, CCW, 559.
“[W]hen he might” Adams, The War of 1812, 229.
Winder ordered a further retreat Peter to Williams, History of the Invasion, 367; Van Ness, CCW, 583.
“made me regret” Hoffman, Sept. 9, War of 1812 Collection, MdHS.
At Benedict [Barrett], “Naval Recollections of the Late American War,” part 1, 460.
Captain Gordon’s squadron Napier, Admiral Sir Charles Napier, 78; Perrett, The Real Hornblower, 111.
Light from the fires Ingraham, Sketch of the Events, 48; Martha S. Jones, “Letter of Martha Selden Jones,” William and Mary Quarterly, July 1938, 292.
“my journey during” [Daniel Sheldon], “An Unpublished Letter, August 26, 1814: The Burning of Washington,” Magazine of American History, 1892, 467.
visible in Baltimore Scott S. Sheads, The Rockets’ Red Glare: The Maritime Defense of Baltimore in 1814, 57.
“As the moon” London Times, Sept. 29.
Admiral Cockburn, by one account Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 186.
Bank of Metropolis CRG, 274.
the National Intelligencer Williams, History of the Invasion, 265; Allen C. Clark, “Joseph Gales, Junior, Editor and Mayor,” RCHS, 1920; “Old Sub,” part 2, 25.
Near the McKeown Hotel “Fall of Washington. Phil. True American Extra,” in Long Island Star, Aug. 31; Scott, Recollections, 306.
“Good people” Smith, First Forty Years, 111–12; Chester Bailey to Poulson’s Advertiser, Philadelphia, Aug. 29, reprinted in Boston Repertory, 1 Sept.; Lord, Dawn’s Early Light, 170.
CHAPTER 9: They Feel Strongly the Disgrace
Toward dawn Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 211; Chester Bailey to Poulson’s Advertiser, Tucker, Poltroons, 576; Seale, The President’s House, 135; Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 189, 205; CRG, 277.
Near the Capitol, Lieutenant Scott Scott, Recollections, 311–12; Cockburn to Cochrane, Aug. 27, NW III, 222.
“coarse jests” Williams, History of the Invasion, 270.
One American told Cockburn Nantucket Gazette, July 1816; Connecticut Journal, Sept. 5; “Cheers for the British,” WP, Aug. 23, 1993.
“[S]uch was his Smith, First Forty Years, 112; Peter to Quincy, Aug. 26, in Eberlein and Hubbard, Historic Houses, 131.
The Intelligencer would Scott, Recollections, 306; Williams, History of the Invasion, 265.
7. “Be sure that all the ‘c’s” Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 188.
Cockburn helped his men Seaton, William Winston Seaton, 116; Clark, “Joseph Gales,” 100.
Dr. William Thornton Thomas B. Brumbaugh, ed., “A Letter of Dr. William Thornton to Colonel William Thornton,” MdHM, March 1978, 64; Lord, Dawn’s Early Light, 175; Tucker, Poltroons, 577.
Thornton leapt Thornton, “To the Public,” NI, Sept. 7; Anna Thornton diary, Aug. 25, 175.
NAVY YARD, MORNING, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25
“Admiral Cockburn said he was glad” “Fall of Washington Phil. True American Extra,” in Long Island Star, Aug. 31.
Some delinquent youth Thomas Ap Catesby Jones and Martha Fry, “Mutilation of the Monument,” Army and Navy Chronicle, vol. 8, 1839, 261; “History of the Washington Navy Yard, 1799–1921,” part 2, Special Collections, Washington Navy Yard Library, 258, 275; Tingey to Jones, Oct. 18, NW III, 319.
“parcel of wicked boys” “Mutilation of the Monument,” 259–61.
Cheering troops clambered “Mutilation of the Monument,” 260–61.
CAPITOL HILL, MORNING, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25
At his headquarters Ewell, “Unwelcome Visitors,” 16.
York—modern-day Toronto Fabel, “The Laws of War in the 1812 Conflict,” 211.
Brigadier General Zebulon Ibid., 216; Hickey, Don’t Give Up the Ship!, 216.
“They feel strongly” Ross to Elizabeth Ross, Sept. 1, D 2004/1A/3/5, PRONI.
It was not so much York Fabel, “The Laws of War in the 1812 Conflict,” 216; Mahan, Sea Power, 333. Malcolmson, Capital in Flames, 390; Prevost to Cochrane, June 2, ADM 1/506, NAUK.
Before Ross landed Handwritten copy of MacDougall letter to London Times, May 1861, GWU.
> Returning from his tour Ewell, Unwelcome Visitors, 16; Hunter, “The Burning of Washington, D.C.,” 82.
In that spirit, he and Ross Evans memorandum, Aug. 31, NLS, 16; Smith, First Forty Years, 113. The oft-told story that the British spared the barracks as a gesture of respect to the U.S. Marines is a myth.
A few isolated Ewell, Unwelcome Visitors, 19–22; Gardner, “To the Editor of the Federal Republican.”
Cockburn’s harshest critics Scott, Recollections, 323.
MONTGOMERY COURT HOUSE, THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 25
General Winder Winder narrative, CCW, 551.
“I shall assemble” Winder to Stricker, Aug. 25, Winder Papers, MdHS.
Every hour brought Stansbury, CCW, 262; Sheldon, “Unpublished Letter.”
The dusty and exhausted Sprigg, Aug. 25, Spratt Collection, MdHS.
Both the weather Winder narrative, CCW, 557.
Jacob Barker Barker, Incidents, 110.
GREENLEAF POINT, WASHINGTON, NOON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25
The British had nearly Williams, History of the Invasion, 268.
Royal Marine Captain Mortimer Timpson Timpson memoir, RMM, i, 32; Virginia Campbell Moore, “Reminiscences of Washington as Recalled by a Descendant of the Ingle Family,” RCHS, 1900, 103.
At the arsenal CCW, 587; Timpson memoir, RMM, 32; Scott, Recollections, 312; Williams, History of the Invasion, 268.
“I found myself shot” Timpson memoir, RMM, 33.
Rocks, earth Arnold, “The Battle of Bladensburg,” 160–61; Williams, History of the Invasion, 268.
When he came to Timpson memoir, RMM, 33–35.
The sickening concussion Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 189; Shiner diary, 8; Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 136; Smith, Autobiography, 203; Kevin Ambrose, Dan Henry, and Andy Weiss, Washington Weather: The Weather Sourcebook for the D.C. Area, 31.
The roaring wind Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser, Aug. 31; Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 136–37.
Mary Ingle Moore, “Reminiscences of Washington.”
The storm, by one Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 294; Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 137.
“It fairly lifted me” King, “Battle of Bladensburg,” 456.
“I never witnessed” Smith, Autobiography, 203.
In parts of the city “Destructive Hurricane,” Sept. 1, NI; Seth Pease letter, Sept. 1, Individual Manuscripts Collections, GWU; Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 191; Lord, Dawn’s Early Light, 182; CCW, 586; Pringle, Letters, 8.
Sweeping southeast [Barrett], “Naval Recollections of the Late American War,” part 1, 460; logbook of Royal Oak, ADM 50/87, NAUK; Shomette, Flotilla, 328.
On the Potomac Napier, Admiral Sir Charles Napier, 79, 87.
In Washington, after Ambrose, et. al., Washington Weather, 32; Moore, “Reminiscences of Washington.”
NORTHERN VIRGINIA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25
President Madison Alden, “Madison’s Desperate Ride”; Herrick, August 24, 1814, 113; Booth to Tingey, Sept. 10, transcript at UVa.
Dolley and her party Cutts, ed., Memoirs and Letters of Dolly Madison, 114–15; Jeremiah Mason to Mary Means Mason, Oct. 6, DMDE; Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 208; Jennings, A Colored Man’s Reminiscences, 11.
CAPITOL HILL, EVENING, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25
A ghastly column Timpson journal, 37, RMM; Ewell, “Unwelcome Visitors,” 23; Ingersoll, Historical Sketch, vol. 2, 189; Scott, Recollections, 312.
The vital Foxall Foundry [McLane], Nov. 14, 1853, Winder Papers, MdHS; Gorr, “The Foxall-Columbia Foundry.” Owner Henry Foxall, a devout Methodist, later built a church in Washington in thanks. CRG, 275; Baltimore Patriot, Aug. 31.
“The object of the expedition” Ross to Bathurst, Aug. 30, NW III, 223.
“the general devastation” Cockburn to Cochrane, Aug. 27, NW III, 222.
Despite all the evidence Catlett, CCW, 584; Brooke diary, 303–304.
Ross directed Lieutenant Evans Smith, Autobiography, 201; King, “Battle of Bladensburg,” 454; Cowper, The King’s Own: The Story of a Royal Regiment, 9.
The general arranged for Ewell Ewell, “Unwelcome Visitors,” 24; Scott, Recollections, 324.
Shortly after sunset Beall account book, Aug. 24, MS 112, MdHS; Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 141.
“forty miserable” Catlett, CCW, 584; Smith, Autobiography, 201; Shiner diary, 9; Calcott, ed., Mistress of Riverdale, 272.
The light infantry troops Scott, Recollections, 325; Cowper, The King’s Own, 9; Gleig, Subaltern, 89.
Commodore Barney Barney to Jones, Aug. 29, NW III, 207; Gleig, Narrative of the Campaigns, 139; Barney, Biographical Memoir, 268–69.
At midnight, bugles Catlett, CCW, 584; CCW, 531; Smith, Autobiography, 202.
“Exceeding darkness” Scott, Recollections, 325.
The “fatiguing march” Ross to Bathurst, Sept. 1, WO 1/141, NAUK.
Many soldiers tossed Smith, Autobiography, 202; Gleig diary, Aug. 27.
CHAPTER 10: Hide Our Heads
WASHINGTON, MORNING, FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
The British were gone Peter to Quincy, Aug. 26, in Eberlein and Hubbard, Historic Houses, 128.
“[I]t seems as” Anna Thornton diary, Aug. 27, 177.
Francis Scott Key wrote Mullaly, “A Forgotten Letter of Francis Scott Key.”
Rumors flew that armed blacks Stansbury, CCW, 562.
Adding to the sense Arnold, “The Battle of Bladensburg,” 166; Lord, Dawn’s Early Light, 194.
William Thornton, returning Thornton, “To the Public,” NI, Sept. 7.
The yard commandant discovered Tingey to Jones, Aug. 27, NW III, 217.
Mayor Blake returned Blake to Monroe, Aug. 27, Misc. Letters of the Department of State, NARA RG 59, M179, Roll 30; M. I. Weller, “Four Mayors of the City of Washington,” RCHS, 1899.
“Our stupid mayor” Anna Thornton diary, Aug. 28, 177.
A marine guarding Tingey to Jones, Oct. 7, NARA RG 45, M125, roll 40, copy at NHHC; Peck, Roundshots to Rockets, 68.
At dusk James H. Blake, “To The Editors,” NI, Sept. 9.
Captain John Rodgers arrived Rodgers to Winder, Aug. 26, NHHC; Rodgers to Jones, Aug. 27, NW III, 259.
“Would to God” Rodgers to Jones, Aug. 29, NW III, 244.
“When we got to Baltimore” John Harris to William Harris, Sept. 27, War of 1812 Collection, MdHS; Porter to Jones, Aug. 27, NARA RG 45, subject file, Box 151, copy at NHHC.
“This came upon us” James Piper, “Defence of Baltimore, 1814,” MdHM, 1912.
Private Henry Fulford Marine, British Invasion, 114.
“We expect every” Annie L. Sioussat, Old Baltimore, 192.
Residents of Baltimore Don Hickey, “The Pro-War Riots in Baltimore in the Summer of 1812,” lecture at National War of 1812 Symposium, Baltimore, Oct. 2, 2010; Lord, Dawn’s Early Light, 227; Fells Point tour with Jack Trautwein, Nov. 14, 2009.
“They will make” Marine, British Invasion, 16, 18.
A veritable private navy Scott S. Sheads, Fort McHenry, 17.
Two-masted schooners John V. Trautwein and Ellen von Karajan, “Fell Point’s Untold Story,” Trautwein, “Sudden End to the War of 1812: A Chronology (1813–1815),”and Pride of Baltimore II tour, Baltimore City Star-Spangled 200 Conference, Nov. 10, 2010; Marine, British Invasion, 14–15.
MONTGOMERY COURT HOUSE, 10 A.M., FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
At his headquarters Winder narrative, CCW, 559.
“a force respectable” Stansbury, CCW, 562.
Winder continued during Ralph J. Robinson, “Controversy over the Command at Baltimore in the War of 1812,” MdHM, 1944; Swanson, Perilous Fight, 199–200.
Samuel Smith had never Frank A. Cassell, Merchant Congressman in the Young Republic: Samuel Smith of Maryland, 1752–1839, 18, 175, 181–83, 201; Lossing, Pictorial Field-book, 947; Ketcham, James Madison, 488.
When war was declared Frank A. Cassell, “Baltimore in 1813: A Study of Urban Defense in the War of 1812,�
�� Military Affairs, December 1969, 350, 358–60.
After Bladensburg, city leaders Marine, British Invasion,135.
“There can be no doubt” Governor Winder to Edward Johnson, Aug. 26, everal gentlemenBaltimore City Archives, RG 22, War of 1812 Records; George, Terror, 127; Robinson, “Controversy over the Command.”
“[T]he manner in which” Winder to Secretary of War, Aug. 28, Winder Papers, MdHS.
UPPER MARLBORO, FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
The Americans “took the bait” Smith, Autobiography, 203–204.
Ross had, in fact Evans memorandum, 13–14, NLS; Ross to Bathurst, Aug. 30, NW III, 223.
Yet Ross was missing, Mullaly, “Battle of Baltimore,” 67, 82; James, Naval History of Great Britain, 187.
BROOKEVILLE, MARYLAND, 9 P.M., FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
The Quaker village CRG, 92; Smith, First Forty Years, 100.
But the war came “Destruction of the American Capital,” Sept. 6, Hartford Courant; Smith, First Forty Years, 107. Bentley was also a silversmith, and had made the cornerstone plate placed in 1793 by George Washington for the groundbreaking of the now-destroyed Capitol.
Madison had left Dolley Booth to Tingey, Sept. 10, UVa; Madison to Monroe, Aug. 26, Writings of James Madison, 298; Brant, James Madison, 307; Madison to Jones, Aug. 27, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, copy at UVa; Herrick, August 24, 1814, 116–17.
Madison “anxiously enquired” “Extract of a letter, dated Brookville, Augt. 27,” Sept. 6, Hudson, N.Y., Northern Whig.
Around 10 p.m. White House Historical Association, The White House: An Historic Guide, 118; author tour, Bentley home, March 10, 2012.
“I will either wait” Madison to Monroe, Aug. 26, Writings of James Madison, 298.
Since he had left Brant, James Madison, 308; Ketcham, James Madison, 580.