Collection America Under Fire
The young national capital at Washington, D.C. became the epicenter of The War of 1812 with Great Britain during the...
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Significant Events
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"He Stands for All the Fallen"
“Quentin’s mother and I are very glad that he got to the front and had the chance to render some...
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The Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson arrived in New Orleans on December 1, 1814, and took charge of the city's defense, commanding that waterways be obstructed...
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Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day," 6/10/1939
WASHINGTON, Friday—The long expected arrival of Their Britannic Majesties has at last taken place. We drove down yesterday through an...
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An Eloquent Visitor from the Great Plains
One of the most moving moments in the early history of the White House took place in the Entrance Hall, w...
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The Japanese Mission of 1860
During the 1850s Japan gradually began to discard its isolationist foreign policy of sakoku (“locked country”) and began opening some of i...
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The Octagon
On September 8, 1814, the Madisons moved into the Octagon, second in size only to the burned President's House, and the only...
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The Navy Yard, Treasury Department & Other Buildings
Washington awoke to a humid, cloudy day as an occupied city on August 25. Cockburn and Captain John Wainwright of Cockburn's...
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The Naval War of 1812
Britain's navy began its war in North Atlantic waters with a crushing advantage over the United States in numbers of...
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The Chesapeake & Canadian Campaigns
The British decided in 1814 to relieve pressure on their forces in Canada by launching diversionary assaults in the Chesapeake Bay...
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Stephen Pleasonton Saves the State Papers
With news of the British force's approach, a senior State Department clerk, Stephen Pleasonton, swung into action, buying rough but...
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Tensions in the Capital
President James Madison arrived back in Washington about 5:00 p.m. on August 27, 1814 and took up temporary lodgings at the F...