On August 24, 1814, British troops recently arrived from the Napoleonic Wars in Europe easily overran the inexperienced U.S. militiamen tasked with defending Washington, D.C. They then set much of the city ablaze, thereby humiliating the administration of President James Madison. The British only occupied Washington for 24 hours, however, and soon after suffered major defeats of their own that helped bring the War of 1812 to a close.
When the War of 1812 first broke out, the fighting centered on the border between the United States and Canada, then a British colony. Before long, however, other fronts had opened up, including the Chesapeake Bay, where a British squadron led by Rear Admiral George Cockburn spent much of 1813 terrorizing coastal communities. After spending the winter in Bermuda with his troops, the brash-talking Cockburn returned in February 1814 with his eyes set on Washington, D.C., telling a superior that the city “might be poss
