Certain dates echo across the battlefield of history, and August 24 is one of them. From the smoke-filled streets of Washington in 1814 to the fields of Lorraine in 1914 and the waters off the Solomons in 1942, the day marks three defining episodes in military history.

The Burning of Washington, 1814

Also known as the Capture of Washington, the War of 1812 brought its most humiliating chapter for the young United States on August 24, 1814.

British forces under Major General Robert Ross marched on Washington, D.C., after routing American militia at the Battle of Bladensburg . President James Madison had personally gone to observe the fighting but, like his army, was forced to retreat.

That evening, British troops entered the capital. They set fire to the Capitol building, the White Ho

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