The Storm That Saved the ‘White House’

During the War of 1812, the British troops met their match in a battle against nature.

"The Burning of Washington," August 1814. Public Domain

As the Executive Mansion, now known as the White House, and other buildings burned in Washington during the War of 1812, clouds darkened the sky. A vicious thunderstorm struck the region and turned into a tornado that wreaked further chaos. After the rain extinguished the flames, the weather events that occurred that day became known as the “storm that saved Washington.”

How the City Came to Burn

When the United States declared war on Britain in 1812, the British were spending most of their resources battling France in the Napoleonic Wars. But when France was defeated in the Battle of Paris in 1814, Britain sent many of their experienced soldiers to fight in America.

After U.S. troops had set fire to the Canadian capital, York (present-day Toronto), during the Battle of York in 1813,  Britain soon chose to attack Washington. Britain sent Maj. Gen. Robert Ross along with around 4,500 troops to Washington.

Maj. Gen. Robert Ross, the British officer who led the burning of Washington. Public Domain

On Aug. 24, 1814, a group of inexperienced American troops tried to intercept the British soldiers just outside the capital in what would become known as the Battle of Bladensburg. The Americans were easily overwhelmed.

Ross was then given orders to take his troops into Washington and burn the town down. But despite his orders, Ross decided to leave private property (including the U.S. Patent Office) alone.

Aware of the threat of an attack, President James Madison left the city before the British troops arrived. His wife, Dolley Madison, stayed behind and grabbed some valuables including a portrait of former President George Washington before she left.

The British soldiers burning Washington. Public Domain

Ross and his men broke into the White House and dined on a meal already prepared for 40 of the president’s cabinet and military officers, before torching the building. They burned the Executive Mansion, the Capitol, and several other government buildings.

The next day, when the British troops were searching for ammunition and weapons storage facilities to burn, the sky suddenly darkened like it was nighttime. A thunderstorm blew into the city and doused the region with two hours of rain that extinguished the flames of the burning buildings. In fact, the Executive Mansion did not completely burn to the ground.

If the thunderstorm was not enough to deter the British troops, a tornado followed the rain. The British soldiers tried to lay flat on the ground or seek shelter inside buildings as the wind tore off roofs and sent their cannons flying, the troops ended up taking casualties from flying debris. In fact, the British suffered more deaths and injuries from the storm than they did fighting American soldiers. In the end, the British used the storm as a distraction to flee the city. The occupation of Washington only lasted 26 hours.

Overall, the British attack on Washington did not demoralize the Americans like the British had hoped. Instead, the Americans were now more than ever ready to rally against the British. When British troops attacked Baltimore, Maryland on Sept. 13, 1814, the Americans defeated them as a result of a well-defended city.

After the attack, Congress discussed moving the seat of government to a different city. But in the end, rebuilding the nation’s capital proved easier than originally imagined. The public buildings were quickly rebuilt with the Executive Mansion becoming operational in 1817 and the Capitol’s chambers for the Supreme Court, the House, and the Senate were up and running by 1819.

An 1814 watercolor and ink depiction of the United States Capitol after the burning of Washington, in the War of 1812. Painting by George Munger. Library of Congress. Public Domain

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