Profs and Pints Online presents: “The 1814 Burning of Washington,” with Denver Brunsman, associate professor of history at George Washington University, lecturer at Mount Vernon, and scholar of the War of 1812.

[This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

The horrific events of this past January 6th have invoked comparisons to the only other attack on the Capitol, by the British in August 1814.

Learn the details and long-term significance of that attack in a riveting talk by historian Denver Brunsman, an expert on the war that led to that attack and a favorite of Profs and Pints audiences in Washington D.C.

He’ll frame his talk by discussing the origins and significance of the War of 1812, the conflict that unleashed such mayhem. He’ll describe in depth how British troops invaded the capital region and burned nearly all of the public buildings in Washington, including the Capitol and White House, giving our fledgling nation of one its greatest scares. And he’ll leave you with an understanding of why the 1814 attack deserves to be remembered beyond its newfound relevance in 2021.

Just a few weeks after the burning of Washington, Francis Scott Key penned the words to the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the Battle of Baltimore, a nearby confrontation in which the flag’s survival portended our nation’s.  In addition to helping to cement America’s independence, the War of 1812 helped give rise to a sense of nationalism among the people of Canada. It rallied boosters of the city of Washington—among them, First Lady Dolley Madison—to advocate for keeping it as the nation’s capital. With the war’s end, American was free to embark on two centuries of growth.

Profs & Pints Online: The 1814 Burning of Washington