Burning of Washington
Please post your comments and suggestions for this article.
Comment by Eric Northrup on February 11th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
There is always “cause and effect.”
When my wife and I visited Monticello, we were informed that, after the burning of Washington by the British, Jefferson’s personal library was used to start the replenishment of the national library. As a Canadian I expected to hear some comment about this and I was prepared to say, “It’s only fair. You burned York!” The guide was excellent and we did not hear it.
It was an excellent visit to Monticello.
Eric Northrup
Comment by Tony Carp on March 19th, 2013 at 1:11 pm
You article fails to mention the burning, looting and ransacking of York by the Americans and that by comparison, the British response in Washington was a measured one, where unlike York, private property was not touched.
Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on March 22nd, 2013 at 5:57 pm
Thank you, Tony, for your comment. It seems that the article does credit the British with restraint such that private properties were not touched. From the first paragraph “Strict discipline and the British commander’s orders to burn only public buildings are credited with preserving most residences. … in retaliation for the U.S. invasion of York, Upper Canada (now Toronto, Ontario, Canada), at the Battle of York in 1813, in which U.S. forces looted and burned the city.” Nevertheless, the article will be reviewed to ensure that this point is entirely clear to the reader.
Leave a Reply
