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First Lady Dolley Madison waited in the White House for her husband to return from the battlefield at Bladensburg; while she waited, she wrote this letter to her younger sister Lucy Todd. Mrs. Madison refused to leave until the absolute last moment…

This engraving from late 1814 shows the White House, also known as the President's House, after it was set fire by the British. For the previous four years, First Lady Dolley Madison had worked with architect and designer Benjamin H. Latrobe to…

Paul Jennings was born into slavery on the family farm of James Madison, who was president during the War of 1812. During Madison's presidency and retirement, Jennings served as a "body servant," or valet, to Madison. After Madison's death he…

George R. Gleig left divinity school in 1813 to join the British army in the fight against Napoleon Bonaparte. After Bonaparte's defeat, Gleig was sent to the United States for the final months of the War of 1812. He not only participated in the…