On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812 between the United
States and England, British troops enter Washington, D.C. and
burn the White House in retaliation for the American attack on
the city of York in Ontario, Canada, in June 1813.
When the British arrived at the White House, they found that
President James Madison and his first lady Dolley had already
fled to safety in Maryland.
Soldiers reportedly sat down to eat a meal made of leftover food
from the White House scullery using White House dishes and
silver before ransacking the presidential mansion and setting
it ablaze.
Although President Madison and his wife were able to return
to Washington only three days later when British troops had
moved on, they never again lived in the White House.
Madison served the rest of his term residing at the city’s Octagon
House. It was not until 1817 that newly elected president James
Monroe moved back into the reconstructed building.
James Madison (1751 – 1836)
James Monroe (1758 – 1831)
