The British embassy in Washington, D.C., is sporting red faces over a 200th anniversary commemoration of when British redcoats captured, sacked and burned the White House during the War of 1812.
The twitter account of the embassy, @UKinUSA, posted a photo of the present-day White House, decorated by the flags of both countries, with the message:
“Commemorating the 200th anniversary of burning the White House. Only sparklers this time.”
Twitter was chirping within minutes. It took only two hours for the Brits to beat a hasty retreat, posting: “Apologies for earlier tweet. We meant to mark an event in history and celebrate our friendship today.”
On August 24, 1812, the British army briefly occupied the nation’s capital. President James Madison had already fled by horse to Maryland, packing two pistols.
The Redcoats marched down Pennsylvania, where they looted, vandalized, dined in — and dined well, thanks to the taste of Dolly Madison — and then burned the presidential residence.
The War of 1812 is probably best remembered, if at all, for giving inspiration to The Star Spangled Banner. The war ended in a stalemate with Brit sovereignty still intact over what is now Canada.
The Conservative Party government of Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper tried in 2012 to arouse patriotic observance in the Great White North. It spent $28 million (Canadian), marked October as a “Month of Commemoration,” and said remembering the 200-year-old conflict would foster Canada’s national identity.
South of the 48th Parallel, the War of 1812 should evoke memories of one of the worst predictions by a public servant in American history. The Redcoats would go elsewhere, declared Secretary of War John Armstrong, declaring:
“They certainly will not come here. What the devil will they do here? No! No! Baltimore is the place, sir. This is of much more consequence.