One of the darkest days in American history: On This Day in 1814, invading British troops burned the Capitol and White House to the ground. Earlier o the War of 1812, American troops had torched parts of York, known today as Toronto, Ontario /1 
James Madison, who earlier in the day had gone to the front in Bladensburg, MD, returned to the White House to find it empty. He fled. Dolley Madison—among the greatest of First Ladies—had left earlier, after helping to save Gilbert Stuart’s famous portrait of George Washington
Before the British arrived to burn the White House, the mansion had another set of invaders—local citizens who did some looting; "a rabble,” one servant called them. When the British did arrive, they found the President's dinner on the table, still warm. They ate and drank /3
President Madison and and Secretary of State Monroe, watching Washington burn from Virginia, were nearly captured by British forces. The fires that destroyed the White House and Capitol were put out by a massive storm—possibly a tornado—that caused still more damage /4
The destruction of the White House was a massive humiliation for Madison; he and Dolley lived in a nearby mansion (Octagon House) until Madison left office in 1817. James Monroe, who became president in March of that year, would move into the rebuilt White House in Sept. 1817 /5
The nation's capital had been moved from Philadelphia to Washington for security reasons in 1800. After the British attack in 1814, there was talk of moving the capital further inland. Cincinnati was mentioned as one possibility before the decision was made to stay put /6
