<Li> Chesapeake Bay Flotilla </Li> <Li> Caulk's Field </Li> <P> The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, during the War of 1812 . On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross occupied Washington and set fire to many public buildings, including the White House (known as the Presidential Mansion), and the Capitol, as well as other facilities of the U.S. government . The attack was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada . Throughout the history of the United States, the United Kingdom is the only country to have ever captured Washington, D.C.; the Burning of Washington also marks the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the United States capital . </P> <P> President James Madison, military officials, and his government fled the city in the wake of the British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg . They eventually found refuge for the night in Brookeville, a small town in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is known today as the "United States Capital for a Day ." President Madison spent the night in the house of Caleb Bentley, a Quaker who lived and worked in Brookeville . Bentley's house, known today as the Madison House, still stands in Brookeville . </P>

Why did the british burn the capitol building