Snapshots of the Past

U.S. Capitol after Burning by the British [1814] – Historic Print

U.S. Capitol after Burning by the British [1814], 1814 — historic drawing
U.S. Capitol after Burning by the British [1814], 1814. Historic drawing from the U.S. Capitol collection.

(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic drawing of U.S. Capitol after Burning by the British [1814]. Drawn from the Snapshots of the Past archive, it is an authentic piece of documented history.

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U.S. Capitol after Burning by the British [1814]

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The Capitol shown here is the building as it looked in the aftermath of August 1814, when British forces under Major General Robert Ross entered Washington and set fire to the unfinished Capitol, along with the White House and other public buildings. Drawn in ink and watercolor the same year, the view records a scene that was still fresh to contemporaries: the shell of a national symbol that had been under construction for little more than a decade. The raid was a direct consequence of the War of 1812, and the burning gave Americans a lasting image of how vulnerable the young capital remained. Attention to the blackened walls and roofless interior makes this a rare immediate record of the damage.

Created / published1814
Mediumdrawing on paper, ink and watercolor, 59 x 50 cm
NotesGeorge Munger
Original scan3,900 × 2,791 px · prints to 13 × 9 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-224688

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