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Madison fleeing Washington
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Second War of American Independence
The war was fought on land and on the sea and lasted almost three years. One of the biggest offensives was the British attack on the capital city of Washington, D.C. British soldiers landed on the East Coast on August 19, 1814, and stormed Washington on August 24. The 63-year-old Madison barely escaped capture as British soldiers burned Washington -- including the White House and the Capitol building (which housed the 3,000-volume Library of Congress at the time) -- before quickly moving on to Baltimore, Maryland.
The United States and Britain each won several important battles. They eventually grew weary of warfare and signed a peace treaty in Belgium on December 24, 1814. The treaty recognized previous existing boundaries between American and British territory in North America. Do you know what famous song was inspired by and written during the War of 1812?
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