Evening star., 1945-08-19


leading officers entered the House
OF Representatives, where Admiral
Cockburn of the Royal Navy (Who was
cooperating with Gen. Ross, seating
himself in the Speakers chair, called
the asSemblage to order. Gentlemen
said he, the question is. shall this
harbor Of Yankee democracy be burned?
All in favor of burning it will say
ayen There was a general affirmative
response And when he added, Those
opposed will say nay silence reigned
for g moment. Light up!' cried the
bold Brlton, and the order was soon
repeated in all parts of the building
while soldiers and sailors We'd with each
other in collecting combustible ma
terialS for their incendiary fires. The
books on the shelves of the Library of
Congress were used as kindling for the
north wing, and the much admired,
full-length portraits of Louis XVI and
his Queen, Marie Antoinette, which had
been presented by that unfortunate
monarch to Congress. were torn from
their frames and trampled under foot"
Property Destroyed
Other property destroyed by Gen Ross
included the office of the National In
telligencer, then the official organ of the
party in power, and Daniel CAROLS
Hotel; two houses erected by Gen.
George Washington on North Capitol
street between B and C streets NV
in recent years familiarN known as the
Hillman House-were especially singled
out, as it was believed they contained
public records.
In addition to setting fire to the Vir-
ginia end of the Long Bridge our troops
before abandoning the city, destroyed
the Benning and the Pennsylvania Ave-
nue. Bridges
The total value of property destroyed
was then estimated at $1,000 900, which
today, no doubt, would amount to 10
times as much. This, of course has no
reference to the Congressional Library
for there is always something here which
cannot be replaced; not so, however,
with the many public documents de-
stroyed, which made the actual loss
stupendous.
Blodgett Hotel
The only public building to escape
the torch was the Blodgett Hotel build
ing, on E street, where now stands the
General Land Office. 1t was then oc-
cupied by the Post Office Department
and the Patent Office, and upon the
earnest plea of DR.. William Thornton
and his explanation that the destruc-
ton of the patent models would be
world loss, it was spared by the invaders.
Though the invasion by the British
was. indeed, a tragic one, yet withal
fortunately, there were some bright spots.
one in particular being the bravery and
defense of Commodore Joshua Barney
before mentioned and his courageous
sailors, assisted by Capt Miller and 30
men of the Marine Corps, in all 583 men.
Barney had been ordered to defend
the Eastern Branch Bridge, but when it
was ascertained that the enemy had
suddenly wheeled to the right, he at
once solicited permission to abandon
this position and to be allowed to march
with his forces to join the Army, then
posted between Bladensburg and the
city. Permission was accordingly given,
and in few minutes he was on the
march toward Bladensburg with his
guns and men.
Barney's Stand
Riding ahead, he came up with the
American forces, drawn up in detached
parties, the firing having already begun.
He instantly dispatched an officer to
hasten the march of his men, who came
up in a trot Notwithstanding their ex-
hausted condition. He stopped at the
District line and had scarcely time to
form his men and unlimber his guns
which were served with such great
precision that they wrought havoc in
the ranks of the advancing enemy, until
being assaulted by them also on the
flank, deserted by the supporting Mary
land regiment, with his ammunition
nearly exhausted he ordered his Ma
rines and the seamen acting as infantry
under the fotilla officers to make a
counterattack upon the enemy, who
were driven back while his battery
played upon them with grape and can
lister, inf1icting severe losses.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Ameri.
cans had disappeared, and the British
to
Barney'S men, Barney's horse was shot
from under him, several of his best
officers were killed or wounded, ano
he, himself, was severely wounded in
the thigh.
Realizing the hopelessness of fur.
ther prolonging the conflict with such
a small force, without ammunition
and being nearly surrounded by the
enemy, he felt it his duty to order a
retreat, which was effected in perfect
order. The loss of blood weakened him
so that he was forced to lie down al
the spring, which until recently was
at the east side of Bladensburg road, a
little south of the entrance to Fort
Lincoln Cemetery, the site now being
covered by a nearby bungalow resi-
dence. Here he ordered his officers tc
leave him. 1t was not long before Capt
Wainwright came up, and upon ascer-
tanning the commodore's identity went
in search of Admiral Cockburn, who
soon made his appearance, accompanied
by Gen. Ross
OF the coming of the British into
the city we have an interesting nara
tive by Mrs. Vernon, whose husband
Capt. Vernon, was with the Federal
troops. The Vernons resided on the