In August 1814 British forces entered the city of Washington and burned both the White House and the US Capitol building. It was a notable British victory in the War of 1812 and one of the most humiliating military defeats ever suffered by the USA.
The War of 1812 is a historical oddity. The main cause of the war was British impressment (press-ganging) of US sailors into the Royal Navy and the disruption to American shipping caused by Britain’s blockade of Napoleonic France.
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