Our whole banking system I ever abhorred, I continue to Abhor, and I shall die abhorring… —John Adams, 1811
On the morning of August 24, 1814, while emissaries of the President of the United States of America, James Madison, were negotiating a peace treaty to end the war of 1812, violent battles still raged on in the United States.
British Major General Robert Ross led his troops into the Battle of Bladensburg. President Madison, defiant, rode north from Washington to defeat him but was unsuccessful. Defeated, Madison and his troops found refuge in Brookeville, Maryland, approximately 60 miles northwest of Washington.
Meanwhile, Major General Ross, empowered by his success, led a British force into Washington. Under his leadership, the British troops burned many important buildings, including the Presidential Mansion, known today as The White House. The English continued and set fire to the Capitol, the United States Department of War, and the United States Treasury. It was a violent, calculated, but unjustified act.
From The Kings Have Won – Chapter 6
