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The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814 (Now Hear This)
The Burning of Washington The British Invasion of 1814 - Now Hear This Author:Anthony S. Pitch With all the immediacy of an eyewitness account, Anthony Pitch tells the dramatic story of the British invasion of Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1814, an episode many call a defining moment in the coming-of-age of the United States. The British torched the Capitol, the White House, and many other public buildings, setting off an inferno tha... more »t illuminated the country for miles and sent President James Madison galloping out of town while his wife Dolly rescued a life-sized portrait of George Washington from the flames. The author's gripping narrative is filled with details of the attack and even directs listeners to the exact location of scorch marks still to be found on White House stones. Nor does Pitch confine his story to Washington. He also describes the brave, resourceful defense of nearby Fort McHenry and how Francis Scott Key, a detainee on a British warship in the Baltimore harbor during the fort's bombardment, wrote a poem that became the national anthem. Hailed by critics and the general public, the book was a selection of the History Book Club and named a top book of 1998 by the American Library Association. Anthony Pitch gives anecdotal history tours of the nation's capital.« less