Burning+of+Washington

=The Burning of Washington=

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The British sent 14,000 troops into America. They were heading for Washington. Washington was our nations capital so thats why they were going for it. But Washington was heavily guarded by 26 long gun ships in Chesapeake Bay. This held the British back so they couldn't get into the harbor.

Introduction
This all started when Napoleon had been defeated in Europe. Then the British came for Washington. They sent 14,000 troops into America, but when they got there they found out that it was guarded heavily by 26 gun ships. Because of this they weren't able to get into the harbor and get good shots with their cannons. Their cannons would only go so far and not far enough to reach inside the harbor. This made them mad! So they sent 4,500 Red Coats to go fight on land in the south of Washington. The Americans paniced and ran off! Then on August 24 the British set into Washington and set fire to all of public buildings. This was the burning of Washington.

The British
The British were after America. The went straight for the harbor in Washington after they were defeated. They couldn't get in because of all the gun ships and guards, but they didn't give up. They were a great army and had many more people than America.

The Attack by Sea
After the British were defeated they came for Washington by sea, trying to get into the harbor. When they got there it was heavily guarded by many gun ships. They fired cannons, but they were too far to hit anything. After trying many times the retreated.

The Attack by Land
After they couldn't get intot the harbor they sent 4,500 Red Coat troops on land to attack the soldiers. In Bladensburg they went to attack some of the American militiamen. When they saw the Red Coats coming they fled in panic! At night, on August 24, the British set fire to the powerful city of Washington. They lit every public building and even the White House was in flames.

In The End
In the end Washington was burn to the ground. Virginia Dolley Madison and a slaved named Jennings got out of the White House just in minutes before the British got there. They could only save some paintings of George Washington. When General Ross came down the streets with a white flag of truce he was shot at from a house window and killed. After that the British set off to destroy everything that wasn't burnt down already. They had cannons and tons of small arms.