When the British burned Washington during the War of 1812, they also captured the Marine barracks. It is traditionally held within the Marine Corps that, out of respect for the brave showing of the Marines at the Battle of Bladensburg, the British refrained from burning the barracks and the Commandant's House. Though neither Admiral George Cockburn nor General Robert Ross mentioned the Marines specifically in their conversation with the wounded Commodore Joshua Barney, it is now widely acknowledged that the compliment extends towards both Barney's 300 Navy flotilla men and the 103 Marines present.