A Brief Account of the Burning of Washington

The British marched into Washington that night and began burning and destroying government property such as;

the President's House,
the Treasury Building,
the Capitol Building,
the Navy Yard.

Three was a storm that night, but the next day came a real "doosey" with rain and wind that pushed heavy items around and damaged many buildings. Oddly, the rain extinguished some of the British arson.

I am skipping over many fascinating facts and vinettes, however, and leave it to the reader to refer to the many interesting books available on the subject.

The British invasion force left Washington the next evening, almost sneaking out of town after dark in caution of a possible military reprisal. Yet there was no such action organized. The British marched all the way back by exactly the same route they had come. After they left Upper Marlborough, some straggling British caused trouble. A promenant resident and physician named Dr. Beanes, who had hosted British General Ross on his way to Washington, took it upon himself to organize townsfolk and arrest these British troublemakers. But soon he himself was arrested when Ross heard of the incident, and Dr. Beanes was taken to the British fleet and confined aboard ship as they sailed around the Maryland coast to their next target: Baltimore.