The Capitol in Flames

The Capitol in Flames. Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. The U.S. Capitol was the British troop's first target when they arrived in Washington on August 24, 1814, only hours after their afternoon victory at the Battle of Bladensburg. The invaders fired rockets through the Capitol's windows. When the building's iron-plated ceiling prevented the fires from spreading, the attackers burst inside, piled up the furniture, draperies, and other combustible, and fired a rocket into the mess. The result was a fire so intense that it melted glass light fixtures. , Temporary Quarters , The burning of the Capitol, where Congress had voted to declare war on Great Britain in June 1812, left the legislators homeless. So they reunited at the Patent Office, at seventh and F Streets, NW. On February 16, 1815, Congress ratified the Treaty of Ghent (and the war's end) at the Patent Office., “I had no objection to burn[ing] arsenals, dockyards, frigates building, stores, barracks, etc.… but we were horrified at the order to burn the elegant houses of Parliament.” , British Captain Harry Smith, In the summer of 1814 the United States had been at war with Great Britain for two years. Battlefronts had erupted from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. On August 24, following their victory over the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland, British troops marched on Washington with devastating results., The Star-Spangled Banner Historic Trail reveals sites of the War of 18 12 in Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland. Visit ChesapeakeExplorerApp.com or download the Chesapeake Explorer App.